ADAPTATION SYMPOSIUM Nicole Legault Environmental Policy Directorate Transport Canada

Transcription

1 ADAPTATION SYMPOSIUM 2016 Nicole Legault Environmental Policy Directorate Transport Canada April 13, 2016

2 PURPOSE Explore key risks and opportunities for the transportation sector from a changing climate Describe Transport Canada s adaptation efforts Sector assessment PIEVC assessments Northern Transportation Adaptation Initiative (NTAI) 2

3 CANADA S TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM Airports: 26 National Airport System (NAS) airports; regional/local (71), remote (13) and Arctic (11) airports; 1923 certified sites Road: More than 1.3 million two-lane equivalent lane-kilometres of public road; 38,000 km National Highway System, and winter roads Rail: Nearly 46,000 route-kilometres of track; majority CN (49%), CP (26%), other railways (24%); Via Rail operates passenger rail services Ports: 18 Canadian port Authorities (CPA); nearly 550 public ports and 1035 small craft and fishing harbours

4 ALL MODES OF TRANSPORTATION ARE BEING AFFECTED Aviation wind speed and direction; extreme heat/cold; ground temperature (permafrost regions); precipitation; frost Marine storm surges; water levels; ice cover; sea ice; coastal erosion Rail extreme precipitation/flooding; landslides; extreme heat/cold Road freeze-thaw cycles; extreme precipitation/flooding; extreme heat; ground temperatures and groundwater flow (permafrost regions)

5 KEY RISK: ECONOMIC IMPACTS Transportation infrastructure vulnerable to damages and disruptions can pose risks to other sectors of the economy The Great Lakes / St. Lawrence Seaway System is a vital marine corridor ($34.6 B/year in economic activity in Canada and the US) The Chignecto Isthmus is an important rail and highway corridor connecting mainland Canada (NB) with Nova Scotia ($20B/year in trade) Port Metro Vancouver is Canada s largest and busiest marine port ($187B/year in trade) 5

6 KEY RISK: DISRUPTIONS TO PASSENGER TRAVEL Could become more frequent in future. Can particularly affect isolated and remote communities, and have severe impacts on large urban areas. Redundancies can reduce impacts The effects of peat and permafrost thaw on Hudson Bay railway, which links northern communities in Manitoba Flash flooding in Montreal, 2012 Bridge failure that isolated the town of Stewart BC Trees obstructing a road in Halifax after Hurricane Juan,

7 KEY RISK: GREATER IMPACTS IN THE NORTH Temperatures will continue to increase at a faster rate than any other region in Canada. Degrading permafrost has caused damage to roads, railways, and airport taxiways and runways. Operating windows and capacities of some winter roads have decreased Differential settlement associated with permafrost thaw on abandoned section of Highway 4 in NWT Sea ice decline in the arctic is leading to both navigation opportunities and risks 7

8 KEY OPPORTUNITY: LONGER SUMMERS AND SHOULDER SEASONS Benefits to marine navigation. Melting sea ice is slowly opening up arctic waters to new navigation routes, but ongoing navigation risks persist (dangers from multi-year ice) Shorter winter seasons, beneficial to construction and operations 8

9 KEY OPPORTUNITIES: IMPROVED FUEL EFFICIENCY AND REDUCED WINTER MAINTENANCE COSTS Benefits from warmer winters Warmer temperatures improve fuel efficiency for vehicles (e.g % less fuel consumed at 24 o C than 7 o C in a typical urban commute) Less snow in winters may reduce snow and ice-control costs in Canada 9

10 MOVING TOWARDS A PROACTIVE APPROACH Reactive adaptation approaches remain common, though the sector is moving increasingly towards proactive planning The BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (BCMoTI) requires climate change considerations to be included in project design work Atlantic ports are using SmartAtlantic Buoys, to inform operational planning As part of Port Saint John s longterm port modernization planning, a preliminary engineering study has accounted for sea level rise over the next 100 years The City of Toronto developed a Climate Change Risk Assessment Tool and Process and applied it to transportation assets Several jurisdictions are updating culvert design standards for future climate projections, widening culverts, and undertaking other drainage improvements 10

11 TRANSPORTATION SECTOR ASSESSMENT In 2014, Transport Canada initiated a report on Climate risks and adaptation practices for the Canadian transportation sector, in cooperation with NRCan assesses the current state of knowledge on climate risks, impacts and opportunities, as well as adaptation approaches, for transportation systems captures all modes of transportation and all regions of Canada with specific examples and case studies includes seven core chapters (6 regional, 1 urban) led by separate lead and contributing authors, under guidance of an advisory committee involved an expert review process, completed in Winter 2015 Summer 2016 is targeted for public release 11

12 NORTHERN TRANSPORTATION ADAPTATION INITIATIVE (NTAI) Objective: To develop and implement new innovative technologies, advance knowledge, and ensure capacity-building to enhance the resilience of existing and future northern transportation infrastructure and operations to climate change Supports five research priorities: o o o o o collection of baseline data and data modelling climate change vulnerability assessments of northern transportation infrastructure fundamental knowledge and understanding of aspects of climate change affecting the northern transportation system development, evaluation, and testing of innovative tools, technologies, and best practices training and capacity-building Supported by two networks of expertise composed of experts from governments, academia and the private sector : the Permafrost Network and the Network of Expertise on Transportation in Arctic Waters (NEXTAW) 12

13 NTAI: RESEARCH TEST SITES ALONG THE ITH Testing of geotextile materials for the reinforcement of embankments using multiple layer wicking geotexile Placement of geotextiles in the field, April 2015 (Photo taken by E. M. de Guzman) Geotextiles exposed on the side slopes of the embankment with 0.5 m overhang, April 2015 (Photo taken by E. M. de Guzman) Evaluation of alternate watercourse structures to reduce the disruption of the thermal regime of embankments using two types of culverts: a large diameter structure plate corrugated steel pipe culvert and multiple small diameter High Density Polyethylene Pipe culverts (shown below) to disperse water flows

14 AIRPORT VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT PROJECT Infrastructure engineering vulnerability assessment of three northern airports Inuvik s Mike Zubko Airport Cambridge Bay Airport Churchill Airport Inuvik Airport Using the Public Infrastructure Engineering Vulnerability Committee s (PIEVC) Engineering Protocol Objective is to identify components of the infrastructure that are at risk of failure, damage, loss of service and/or deterioration from extreme climatic events or from significant changes to baseline climate design values Cambridge Bay Airport Partnership with Governments of the NWT, Nunavut and Engineers Canada Churchill Airport 14

15 MOVING FORWARD: POTENTIAL FOCUS AREAS What further information and resources do transportation officials need to effectively adapt transportation systems to climate stresses and extreme weather events? What capacity currently exists for adaption, and how can this be expanded? What are the relative costs and benefits of adaptive technologies? How do we ensure alignment with actions in Canada, and with our international partners, particularly our North American partners given the interconnectedness of our transportation system?