Engineers Canada Seeks Survey Responses on Climate Change and Infrastructure

Engineers Canada is undertaking an online survey of Canadian engineers regarding the state of awareness about the challenges that the changing climate poses for Canada’s civil infrastructure. Engineers practising in the following infrastructure categories are encouraged to participate:

  • Transportation (roads, highways, associated drainage systems, bridges, rail, airports and runways)
  • Buildings (structures, climatic loads, building envelope, geotechnical, building systems)
  • Water (drinking water, stormwater, erosion, flood control, wastewater, port and coastal facilities)
  • Energy (transmission, distribution and hydro generation, other renewable and non-renewable production)
  • Resource exploration, extraction and processing (oil and gas, mining, forestry, agriculture).

This includes the planning, specification, design, construction, operation, maintenance or de-commissioning of infrastructure.

The survey is available at www3.web-research-online.com/koa_survey.html and will remain open until Monday, February 6, 2012.

Funded by Natural Resources Canada, this survey is a follow-up to the first survey of engineers completed by the Canadian Standards Association in 2007 to determine a baseline of their level of knowledge and awareness of climate change in their practices. The 2007 survey generated considerable interest and provided baseline information to guide decision making. The data generated by this follow-up survey will be used to help in the planning and execution of initiatives by the Engineers Canada and its constituent associations such as tools and training to ensure that Canada’s professional engineers are properly equipped to deal with this significant national, regional and local issue.

Professional engineers have a vital role to ensure Canada’s civil infrastructure is resilient to the effects of current and future climate. Engineers Canada has been leading a multi-year effort to assess the engineering vulnerability of Canada’s infrastructure to the impacts of current and future climate, through the development of the PIEVC Engineering Protocol. For further information visit www.pievc.ca.