Adapting Infrastructure to a Changing Climate -- David Lapp

It is fundamentally clear that the changing climate represents a substantive and uncertain risk to the future safety and reliability of engineered systems in Canada. Civil infrastructure is designed and operated over a service life that extends well into the future when our climate may differ significantly from what it is presently. The first step in engineering practice to adapt infrastructure is to assess the engineering vulnerability and climate risks.

This presentation will provide the rationale fir and a summary of the PIEVC Engineering Protocol, a formalized procedure developed and tested by Engineers Canada to assess the vulnerability of various types of civil infrastructure to climate impacts. Results from a selection of case studies using the protocol for a selection of infrastructures across Canada will be included. The presentation will conclude with a summary of recommended good engineering practices and lessons learned to date in adapting infrastructure to the changing climate, particularly as these relate to the improvement of our infrastructure codes, standards and related instruments to account for the changing climate.


David Lapp graduated with a bachelor's degree in geological engineering from the University of Toronto in 1978. He is a professional engineer, registered in Ontario and presently works as Manager, Professional Practice with Engineers Canada. He has been part of the Secretariat to the Canadian Engineering Qualifications Board since 1997 focusing on environment, sustainability and climate change as these relate to the practice of engineering.

David has worked in the area of climate change adaptation and engineering since 2001 and currently provides support for a national action plan on climate change impact and adaptation. From 2005 to the present, he has served as project manager for a long-term project to assess the engineering vulnerability of public infrastructure to the impacts of climate change. Since November 2007, David provides the Secretariat for the World Federation of Engineering Organizations Committee on Engineering and the Environment, hosted by Engineers Canada.

Category:

Science & Technology