Climate Adaptation & Transportation: Identifying Information and Assistance Needs

This executive summary describes a May 2012 joint report by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and the Center for Clean Air Policy (CCAP). The report synthesizes findings from a November 2011 workshop funded by NOAA, which brought together climate scientists and transportation planners to identify the information and assistance needed to adapt surface transportation infrastructure to climate change and extreme weather events.

• Local, non-climate contextual factors are often as important as, or more important than, climate science data for adaptation decisions. Effective adaptation requires understanding how critical infrastructure is currently adapted and how local environmental, development, and infrastructure conditions can exacerbate climate effects.
• There is a significant communication gap between engineers and climate scientists, necessitating a central clearinghouse for information and clearer guidance on how to interpret and use available datasets and models in transportation decision support systems.
• Transportation professionals require increased science literacy and updated professional training to evolve the culture of engineering practice, though they do not need to become scientists themselves.
• Current decision-making tools are insufficient for integrating climate variability with other factors such as population growth, economic sector growth, and community risk tolerance. Planners need better methods to operationalize responses to probabilities and worst-case scenarios.
• There is a specific need for higher-resolution data on rainfall intensity, particularly for events lasting 6 hours or less, as current 24-hour projections are insufficient for the needs of hydraulic engineers and storm water management.
• Climate adaptation is a management and economic challenge as much as an engineering one. Practitioners need guidance on incorporating climate impacts into asset management and conducting economic analyses that include the opportunity costs of inaction and the total economic value of assets at risk.
• Federal agencies should support state and local capacity by convening multi-agency efforts (including NOAA, NASA, DOT, USGS, and EPA) to provide data, conducting cost-benefit analyses of preparedness measures, and integrating climate preparedness into MPO long-range transportation plans.

APA

Lutenegger, B. (n.d.). Climate Adaptation & Transportation: Identifying Information and Assistance Needs. Environmental and Energy Study Institute. https://www.eesi.org/files/ReportSummary_EESI-CCAP_Climate_Adaptation_and_Transportation_022813.pdf

Chicago

Lutenegger, Brian. Climate Adaptation & Transportation: Identifying Information and Assistance Needs. Environmental and Energy Study Institute, n.d. https://www.eesi.org/files/ReportSummary_EESI-CCAP_Climate_Adaptation_and_Transportation_022813.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Lutenegger |first1=Brian |title=Climate Adaptation & Transportation: Identifying Information and Assistance Needs |publisher=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |url=https://www.eesi.org/files/ReportSummary_EESI-CCAP_Climate_Adaptation_and_Transportation_022813.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{luteneggerndclimate, author = {Lutenegger, Brian}, title = {{Climate Adaptation \& Transportation: Identifying Information and Assistance Needs}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, url = {https://www.eesi.org/files/ReportSummary_EESI-CCAP_Climate_Adaptation_and_Transportation_022813.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }