AECOM develops climate guidance for TII

AECOM, global infrastructure consulting firm, has delivered the first Climate Guidance for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII). The guidance sets out how infrastructure developers should approach assessment of a project’s impact on the climate, in terms of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and climate resilience, in both design and operation. Previously, there had been no specific climate impact assessment guidance for roads, light rail, and greenways in Ireland.

AECOM has developed a custom carbon emissions assessment tool for TII as part of the project. The tool can assess carbon emission sources from early design through to construction, operation, and decommissioning. A range of designs can be assessed, supporting decision-making to minimize climate impact on national roads, light rail, and rural cycleways (offline & greenways) projects. The tool also provides the ability to record carbon saving measures considered and implemented at each lifecycle stage and project phase. It aligns with PAS 2080 for carbon management in infrastructure.

“Supporting Transport Infrastructure Ireland with the publication of Ireland’s first Climate Guidance and Standard documents for roads, light rail and greenways is a hugely important piece of work. Ireland has already experienced a significant level of damage to infrastructure and disruption to services caused by multiple extreme weather events such as the floods of winter 2015/16, and storms Ophelia and Emma in 2017 and 2018 respectively,” said Ian Davies, Technical Director at AECOM.

“Both carbon mitigation and climate change adaptation of Ireland’s infrastructure is required to enable the development of a net zero and resilient future that is aligned with Ireland’s national ambitions,” he continued.

The tool’s use is now listed as a requirement in TII EIA tenders. The project is aligned with TII’s strategic goal to support the integration of environmental considerations into transport infrastructure planning, construction, and operation.