Climate change impacts are escalating around the world. Extreme events are happening worldwide this year, not even halfway through 2024.
Asian countries like India, Pakistan, Thailand, and the Philippines, for instance, suffered through a deadly heatwave with temperatures exceeding 42°C that started in April and lasted until May. Brazil’s state of Rio Grande du Sul had been hit by a tragic flood that killed at least 165 people and displaced more than half a million people.
Dubai, UAE, had severe flooding from extreme downpours, its heaviest in 75 years. Canada is having a very early start to their fire season, and wildfires are burning out of control. Officials fear that this year might be a repeat of its unprecedented wildfire last year, dubbed the country’s Black Summer.
Climate change is affecting our lives and livelihoods. It lowers air quality, increases illness and death, and hurts the economy. Research shows that responding early to climate change reduces future risks and costs.
According to NASA, responding to climate change is crucial and urgent. We are already committed to some level of climate change – with CO2 atmospheric concentrations surpassing 440 parts per million (ppm), the same levels during the Pliocene Epoch, 3 to 5 million years ago.
The response involves a two-pronged approach: mitigation, which aims to reduce emissions and stabilize the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and climate adaptation, which focuses on adapting to the climate changes that are already underway.
Green infrastructure (GI) can be a significant solution to climate change, addressing climate adaptation and mitigation. For instance, green spaces, such as parks, forests, and green roofs, can absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and mitigate the urban heat island effect by providing shade and evaporative cooling. This can lower temperatures in cities and make them more resilient to heat waves, a Solution that tropical countries can also implement.
Wetlands, permeable pavements, and rain gardens can manage stormwater runoff, reducing the risk of floods. Green infrastructure supports biodiversity by providing habitats for various species, filtering air pollutants, and improving air quality. It also boosts community well-being.
Access to green spaces improves mental and physical health, which can help communities better cope with the stresses and challenges posed by climate change.
The University of Auckland published a review of cities worldwide that have incorporated green infrastructure into urban planning and development. These ten cities are the following:
1. Chicago, USA (GI for heat island effect mitigation via living roofs);
2. Philadelphia, USA (GI for stormwater management);
3. New York, USA (bluebelts, green streets, green parking, living roofs, and other Best Management Practices);
4. Copenhagen, Denmark (transportation);
5. Stockholm, Sweden (eco-districts and green belts integrating nature with the city);
6. London, UK (multiple GI uses);
7. Singapore (GI used for limited water and land resource management);
8. Curitiba, Brazil (transportation, waste management);
9. Vancouver, Canada (identified as one of the world’s most livable cities); and
10. Brisbane, Australia (transport).
The report provides a clear definition of green infrastructure, detailing its components, functions, and the benefits it brings to cities that have implemented it globally.
It concludes that integrating green infrastructure into urban environments has positively impacted human and environmental health. This includes reduced air pollution, contribution to climate change mitigation, enhanced biodiversity and support for native species, moderation of urban temperatures, management of stormwater runoff quantity and quality, decreased flood risk, support for local food production, and an overall enhancement of quality of life.
Now that cities and countries are increasingly implementing green infrastructure to address climate change and promote sustainability, they also must be maintained, managed properly, and cost-effectively. Applying Infrastructure Asset Management (IAM) principles to green infrastructure can ensure that it effectively and sustainably delivers its intended social, environmental, and economic services and benefits.
Infrastructure Asset Management is a relatively new practice. These assets are part of a network of long-lived capital assets that includes roads, bridges, tunnels, drainage systems, water and sewer systems, dams, lighting systems, and communication networks, or what is referred to as “grey” infrastructure.
In response to the growing effects of climate change, a new type of infrastructure asset—green infrastructure has gained prominence. Green infrastructure is increasingly being implemented in cities and communities worldwide, but it must be maintained, managed, inventoried, and allocated sufficient funding to continue to provide its intended purpose and services.
The Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia (IPWEA) offered an Asset Management for Green Infrastructure Webinar on 18 July 2024. The seminar introduced green infrastructure and demonstrated the practical steps needed to incorporate green infrastructure into your asset management systems.
According to IPWEA, the “benefits and enhanced services that Green Infrastructure assets can provide are extensive. Globally, the value of ecosystem services from Green Infrastructure has been estimated to provide benefits of US $125-140 trillion per year – more than 1.5 times the size of global GDP (Nature4Climate, 2023).”
Sources:
2024’s Climate Crisis: Extreme Weather Around the Globe Signals The Urgent Need for Action. (2024, May 23). Climate Council. Retrieved from https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/2024s-climate-crisis-extreme-weather-around-the-globe/
Responding to Climate Change. (2024). NASA. Retrieved from https://science.nasa.gov/climate-change/adaptation-mitigation/
Boyle, C., Gamage, G., Burns, B., FAssman-Beck, E., Knight-Lenihan, S., Schwendenmann, L., & Thresher, W. (2014, November). Greening cities: a review of green infrastructure. The University of Auckland. Retrieved from https://www.auckland.ac.nz/assets/creative/our-research/doc/urban-research-network/greening-cities-report.pdf
Green Infrastructure for Climate Resiliency. (2023, July 24). EPA. Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/green-infrastructure/green-infrastructure-climate-resiliency#
Green Infrastructure: How to Manage Water in a Sustainable Way. (2022, July 25). NRDC. Retrieved from https://www.nrdc.org/stories/green-infrastructure-how-manage-water-sustainable-way#whatis
Green Infrastructure Management Plans. (2024). Halpin Robbins. Retrieved from https://halpinrobbins.co.uk/green-infrastructure
Asset Management for Green Infrastructure Webinar. (2024). IPWEA. Retrieved from https://www.ipwea.org/ipweacommunities/assetmanagement/am-green-infrastructure
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