Overview
The project addressed the EU policies and strategies on climate change, with particular focus on extreme weather impacts on the EU transportation system.
The project goal is to estimate and monetise the disruptive effects of extreme weather events on the operation and performance of the EU transportation system.
EWENT will cover most transport modes (including passenger and freight): road, rail, aviation, waterways and light (pedestrians, cycling). The transport system will be viewed from three angles: infrastructure, operations, and indirect impacts to third parties. The project will evaluate the efficiency, applicability and finance needs for adaptation and mitigation measures which will minimise the costs of extreme weather impacts.
The methodological approach is based on a generic risk management framework that follows a standardised process. It starts with the identification of hazardous extreme weather phenomena, followed by impact assessment and concluded by mitigation and risk control measures.
In detail, the project set out to:
- Identify and define the hazards on EU transportation systems caused by extreme weather phenomena and develop relevant scenarios;
- Estimate the probabilities of harmful scenarios caused by extreme weather;
- Estimate the consequences of extreme weather events based on developed scenarios: first on EU transport infrastructure, then on operations and finally on supply chains and mobility;
- Monetise the harmful consequences per transport mode both on infrastructure and operations (including mobility and supply chain impacts);
- Evaluate measures and options for negative impact reduction, control and monitoring in short and long-term.
The short-term viewpoint was focused on monitoring processes and forecasting and warning/alarm services on weather phenomena. The long-term view provides the starting point for planning and standard setting.
Funding
Results
EWENT addressed the policies and strategies related to climate change, with a particular focus on extreme weather impacts on the EU transportation system. The EWENT project estimated and quantified, in monetary terms, the disruptive effect of extreme weather events. Following that, the project assessed the effectiveness of required investments for different mitigation strategies: e.g. new weather information services, new models, new enqineering guidelines for infrastructure, etc.
The project results have indicated that the most effective and cost efficient measures against extreme weather risks are continuous cooperation of transport sector actors with national weather services and environmental authorities with persistent development of specific weather warning services. Education and training of transport managers and transport users is also important. Better monitoring systems and forecasting methods are required. The action plan devised for mitigation and adaptation identified the need to enhance weather information services supply in general. However, for truly extreme events the key to successful mitigation is cooperation. Current cooperation models are not working and are insufficient.
Innovation aspects
An innovative suggestion is the Weather Hazard Skill Management Certificate. This certificate is particularly applicable with high benefit/cost ratio and should be made mandatory in Europe for all transport operators and managers. Benefits would be for all transport modes and for all extreme weather events. The EWENT project requests the European Commission to take this idea into consideration.
Technical Implications
Further research is particularly needed on transport network’s vulnerability, reliability and resilience. Furthermore, quantitatively verifiable tools should be developed for diagnosing the European network’s state of preparedness to withstand different classes of extreme weather phenomena and their impacts.
Policy objectives
Innovating for the future (technology and behaviour):
- Service quality and reliability
- Acting on transport safety: saving thousands of lives