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Wilbanks, Thomas J

Publications and source records attributed to Wilbanks, Thomas J.

6 records
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DOE OSTI2014

Climate Change and Infrastructure, Urban Systems, and Vulnerabilities

This Technical Report on Climate Change and Infrastructure, Urban Systems, and Vulnerabilities has been prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in support of the U.S. National Climate Assessment (NCA). It is a summary of the currently existing knowledge base on its topic, nested within a broader framing of issues and questions that need further attention in the longer run. The report arrives at a number of assessment findings, each associated with an evaluation of the level of consensus on that issue within the expert community, the volume of evidence available to support that judgment, and the section of the report that provides an explanation for the finding. Cross-sectoral issues related to infrastructures and urban systems have not received a great deal of attention to date in research literatures in general and climate change assessments in particular. As a result, this technical report is breaking new ground as a component of climate change vulnerability and impact assessments in the U.S., which means that some of its assessment findings are rather speculative, more in the nature of propositions for further study than specific conclusions that are offered with a high level of confidence and research support. But it is a start in addressing questions that are of interest to many policymakers and stakeholders. A central theme of the report is that vulnerabilities and impacts are issues beyond physical infrastructures themselves. The concern is with the value of services provided by infrastructures, where the true consequences of impacts and disruptions involve not only the costs associated with the clean-up, repair, and/or replacement of affected infrastructures but also economic, social, and environmental effects as supply chains are disrupted, economic activities are suspended, and/or social well-being is threatened. Current knowledge indicates that vulnerability concerns tend to be focused on extreme weather events associated with climate change that can disrupt infrastructure services, often cascading across infrastructures because of extensive interdependencies threatening health and local economies, especially in areas where human populations and economic activities are concentrated in urban areas. Vulnerabilities are especially large where infrastructures are subject to multiple stresses, beyond climate change alone; when they are located in areas vulnerable to extreme weather events; and if climate change is severe rather than moderate. But the report also notes that there are promising approaches for risk management, based on emerging lessons from a number of innovative initiatives in U.S. cities and other countries, involving both structural and non-structural (e.g., operational) options.

Climate Impacts on Infrastructure Systems↗
DOE OSTI2011

Inducing Transformational Energy Technological Change

Reducing risks of severe climate change in the latter part of the 20th Century is likely to require not only incremental improvements in known energy technologies, but the discovery of transformational new energy technologies. This paper reviews current knowledge about both demand and supply aspects of the challenge of accelerating transformational change, considering both economic and policy incentives, including targeted government funding of research and development, and several other schools of thought about drivers of scientific discovery and innovation.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2011

Climate Change Adaptation in the Urban Environment

This overview chapter considers five questions that cut across the four case studies in the section to follow: (1) why are urban environments of particular interest; (2) what does an 'urban environment' mean as a focus for adaptation actions, (3) what do we know about climate change vulnerabilities and adaptation potentials in urban areas; (4) what can we expect in the future with adaptation in urban areas; and (5) what is happening with climate change adaptation in urban areas? After decades of inattention, adaptation to risks and impacts of climate change is now receiving long overdue attention, and it is only natural that a considerable share of this attention is focused on the places where most people live. This section considers climate change adaptation in the urban environment, defined as settings where human populations cluster - generally implying relatively large clusters, but not excluding smaller settlements that operate as coherent geopolitical and economic entities. Consistent with the topic of the book, the emphasis of this overview will be on urban environments in developed countries, but it will also draw on knowledge being developed from urban experiences across the globe.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2011

Conclusions and Policy Directions,

This chapter briefly revisits the constraints and opportunities of mitigation and adaptation, and highlights and the multiple linkages, synergies and trade-offs between mitigation, adaptation and urban development. The chapter then presents future policy directions, focusing on local, national and international principles and policies for supporting and enhancing urban responses to climate change. In summary, policy directions for linking climate change responses with urban development offer abundant opportunities; but they call for new philosophies about how to think about the future and how to connect different roles of different levels of government and different parts of the urban community. In many cases, this implies changes in how urban areas operate - fostering closer coordination between local governments and local economic institutions, and building new connections between central power structures and parts of the population who have often been kept outside of the circle of consultation and discourse. The difficulties involved in changing deeply set patterns of interaction and decision-making in urban areas should not be underestimated. Because it is so difficult, successful experiences need to be identified, described and widely publicized as models for others. However, where this challenge is met, it is likely not only to increase opportunities and reduce threats to urban development in profoundly important ways, but to make the urban area a more effective socio-political entity, in general - a better city in how it works day to day and how it solves a myriad of problems as they emerge - far beyond climate change connections alone. It is in this sense that climate change responses can be catalysts for socially inclusive, economically productive and environmentally friendly urban development, helping to pioneer new patterns of stakeholder communication and participation.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗