Human Infrastructure

Human Infrastructure

  1. Industry, Energy, and Transportation

    Most human infrastructure elements are insensitive to climate change, except some such as agriculture, hydropower production, and transportation in marginally navigable rivers. Demand for air conditioning will increase, but demand for space heating will diminish.

  2. Coastal Zones and Small Islands

    Sea-level rise will be particularly troublesome for some coastal zones and small islands. Studies indicate a 1-m rise in sea level, with no change in coastal protection, will result in land losses of 0.005% in Uruguay, 1% for Egypt, 6% for the Netherlands, 17.5% for Bangladesh, and up to 80% for the Majuro Atoll in the Marshall Islands. China and Bangladesh each have about 70 million people that would be affected by a 1-m rise in sea level.

  3. Insurance

    Increased frequency of extreme events and disproportionate increase of population in regions vulnerable to natural disasters (e.g., coastal regions, suburban sprawl into forested and mountainous regions) are already increasing insurance payouts due to climatic events. Rates for coverage will have to be adjusted to account for changed frequency of such natural disasters.

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