The Inter-American development bank (IDB) has released a publication on climate change covering the Latin America and Carribean (LAC) region on risk management for the transportation sector.

The LAC region has a long history of coping with natural hazards such as hurricanes, floods, and coastal storm surges. However, climate change is expected to exacerbate the threat of natural hazards and pose new ones. As a result of climate change, average temperatures and sea levels are known to be rising, precipitation patterns might change, and hurricanes could intensify. 

Many of these changes are already occurring, and are projected to become more severe in the future. The IDB supports a wide-range of projects in the LAC region. Climate change-related risks could adversely affect the financial, economic, environmental, and social performance of current and future IDB investments in the region. This factsheet identifies climate change risks and risk management options that can be incorporated into IDB-investments for the transportation sector.

These climate change risk management measures range widely in scope, scale and time frame. It is anticipated that the user will consider the applicability of these measures and refine based on the project or region of interest. In general, it is recommended that all projects should include disaster preparedness measures, such as measures to issue timely and effective early warnings, evacuation and safety plans, and business continuity plans. A review of the insurance scheme is also recommended as a means to minimize post disaster losses. For new projects, selecting risk management measures during the feasibility and design phase can help avoid costly retrofits and maximize resilience to climate change impacts throughout the project life. 

The full publication can be found here.