Climate change-generated disasters and changes in weather conditions affect and will keep on affecting infrastructures and operations of passenger and freight transport networks. Local and national authorities, private stakeholders and international organisations worldwide need to find ways to assess adverse impacts and target limited resources towards projects that will both mitigate climate change as much as possible, and guarantee networks' capacities to sustain, adapt to and overcome future disruptions. Nevertheless, various challenges exist, in particular: what is the extent of the resources needed for infrastructure and fleet replacement measures that are at the basis of transport emissions’ mitigation?; how to properly assess short- and longer-term climate-based disruption risks for infrastructure assets, operations, supply chains and impacted communities?; and which emerging instruments could help stakeholders to meet funding challenges?
Spotlight on Research Sessions bring together research experts, senior-level practitioners, policy makers and strategists to discuss and inform decision makers on issues relevant to the Summit's themes. This is increasingly important considering the pace at which our transport systems are currently evolving. Researchers can inform policy decisions by helping practitioners understand the increasing complexity of mobility systems, by raising awareness about the latest innovations that could be critical for a sustainable future and by critically assessing policies.
The sessions offer an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas and are organised jointly between the ITF Secretariat, together with the European Commission (EC), the European Conference of Transport Research Institutes (ECTRI), the Transportation Research Board (TRB) and the World Conference on Transport Research Society (WCTRS).
Bridging research and policy, this Research in Focus session is complementary to the core session Financing equitable, green and safe transport.
