The African Development Bank has called for 40BillionUSDperyearoverthecomingdecadestobeprovidedtoAfricancountriestoaddressdevelopmentissuesdirectlyrelatedtoclimatechange.Thecurrentstudyaddressesakeycomponentoftheseissues,theeffectofclimatechangeontheroadinfrastructureofMalawi,Mozambique,andZambia.Thestudyincorporatesastressor−responseapproachtoestimatetheeffectsofprojectedprecipitation,temperature,andfloodingchangesonthepavedandunpavedroadinfrastructureofthesecountries.Thepaperhighlightstheresultofrunning425climatescenariosforeachroadtypeandpolicyoptionfrom2010to2050.Basedonthisbroadanalysis,itisestimatedthatthethreesouthernAfricancountriesarefacingapotential596 million price tag based on median climate scenarios to maintain and repair roads as a result of damages directly related to temperature and precipitation changes from potential climate change through 2050. The challenge for policy makers is to determine the potential risk that a country is facing based on the uncertainties associated with the multiple aspects of climate change modeling.
This article is part of a Special Issue on “Climate Change and the Zambezi River Valley” edited by Finn Tarp, James Juana, and Philip Ward
Abstract Climate change is a potential threat to Vietnam's development as current and future infrastructure will be vulnerable to climate change impacts. This paper focuses on the physical asset of road infrastructure in Vietnam by evaluating the potential impact of changes from stressors, including: sea level rise, precipitation, temperature and flooding. Across 56 climate scenarios, the mean additional cost of maintaining the same road network through 2050 amount to US$10.5 billion. The potential scale of these impacts establishes climate change adaptation as an important component of planning and policy in the current and near future