Developing Climate-Resilient Codes and Standards

Central to efforts to reduce loss of life and property damage due to natural disasters is a significant fiscal and intellectual investment in climate-resilient infrastructure. To help the U.S. achieve these twin goals, promoting the development of climate-resilient codes and standards has strategic importance. To tackle the issue, a collaboration between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and ASCE was formalized in September 2021. Since then, the collaboration has focused on exploring the use of NOAA-produced information about future climatic conditions and the integration of that information into the design and construction of climate-resilient infrastructure. By helping ensure that the design and construction of infrastructure is informed by the best available scientific understanding of future weather and climate conditions, this effort should increase the pace of climate adaptation and reduce design, construction, and maintenance costs, as well as the human and financial costs of climate-related natural disasters.