Van Oord has published a white paper, Accelerating Climate Initiatives, highlighting the scale and scope of global climate challenges and proposing “climate adaptation” measures to help societies adjust.
According to the marine contractor, deltas and coastal areas around the world are facing the effects of global warming, including sea level rise, extreme weather conditions, soil subsidence and endangered biodiversity.
In addition to efforts to prevent further warming (climate mitigation), societies need also to adapt to climate change, states the document, especially those with “densely populated delta areas, which are also important economic centres.”
According to Van Oord, this entails increasingly complex projects that call for an “exceptional effort” on the part of all concerned.
Conventional hydraulic engineering measures such as dyke reinforcement and beach nourishment are still required, advises the white paper, along with a more integrated approach based on advanced solutions including those that are nature-based.
Van Oord is part of the Levvel consortium, along with BAM and Rebel, which is designing, constructing and financing the reinforcement of the 32km Afsluitdijk.
Over the next few years, several innovative features will be introduced to ensure that the energy neutral Afsluitdijk ensures increased traffic safety and can continue to be resistant to flooding until at least 2050.
The reinforcement project will combine various objectives and uses.
Reinforced hydraulic structures and two new high-water protection locks will defend the dam from flooding, while its geography will support the use of innovative technology and renewable energy.
Financing for climate adaptation projects, like Afsluitdijk, is mainly derived from public funding, often by local governments, through bilateral development aid, or through loans and grants obtained from multilateral development banks.
Estimates from the World Bank (2010) indicate that the costs of adapting to a global temperature rise of 2°C degrees would result in an annual price tag ranging from $70bn (€62bn) to $100bn up to 2050, of which an estimated annual $28-29bn will be required for coastal zones.
Despite the growing contribution of multilateral and bilateral development funds, from sources such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, and an increase in emerging market-led funds and institutions, the main hurdle continues to be the mobilisation of private funding, according to Van Oord’s white paper.