News

U.S. Leads Task Group on Climate Change

PIANC headquarters has set up a permanent cross-cutting "Commission Task Group on Climate Change," led by the Environmental Commission (EnviCom). The permanent task group will be chaired by Dr. Kathleen D. White from PIANC USA. As climate change is and will be an ongoing hot political issue with overarching importance, PIANC feels it is essential that the waterborne transport sector be prepared to be an active partner in this fast developing field. PIANC and its sister organizations should be the leader in this global network for providing guidance for sustainable waterborne transport infrastructure for ports and waterways with regard to the challenges of climate change.

Under this global umbrella, the network has to be developed by taking into consideration regional distinctions. For example, the member states of the European Union are obliged to set up national adaptation strategies and action plans which include the waterborne transport sector. Therefore, the new permanent Task Group shall be the platform to organize the knowledge development, availability, and transfer for the waterborne transport sector into the global and regional activities of climate change in an effective way. This means that PIANC and each sister organization bring together their competencies, expertise, and network to create a strong taskforce without duplicating existing competencies and activities.

Against this background, PIANC intends to build up substructures within the Task Group to be responsible for specific fields, such as adaptation to climate change in the maritime and inland navigation sector and activities of mitigation (reduction of emissions) in the maritime and inland navigation sector. It is clear that the effectiveness of the Task Group is dependent on a focused scope and appropriate participation by the members in the Task Group. Therefore, PIANC intends to have a mixture of representatives from each PIANC commission, PIANC partner organizations, and scientific experts from various countries.

The new Task Group shall specify the scope, substructure, and main activities in its Terms of Reference as a first task. PIANC USA is taking a lead role in this effort since the Task Group chairperson is Dr. Kathleen D. White, Civil Engineer and Senior Lead, Global and Climate Change at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Institute for Water Resources in Alexandria, VA. Dr. White was a major contributor to PIANC EnviCom Task Group 3's Report, Climate Change and Navigation: A Review of Climate Change Drivers, Impacts, Responses (May 2008, available for free download at: http:// www.pianc.org/edits/article.php?id=4000501.)

revised 30 Apr 2010