Overview

We are living in a world where industrial plant was, and often still is, designed and operated based on understanding of past climatic conditions.  However, we are now experiencing increasing threats and risks from climate change - we need to be resilient to more frequent and more severe extreme weather events and numerous other climate impacts.  What challenges does this bring to the engineering community?

IChemE and IMechE are collaborating to explore this issue, in depth, by hosting a series of adaptation and climate resilience webinars, focusing on the adaptation needs of industry.

In the first of the series, Mike Nicholas, an industrial adaptation expert at the Environment Agency, will provide an overview of the challenges.  We know from past experiences that the productivity, reliability and safety of industrial processes are directly impacted by extreme weather and other geographic factors.

Climate change is bringing more frequent and more severe weather across the globe, along with other impacts such as droughts, wildfires, sea level rise and amplification of geohazards. As engineers, we have the tools to manage these changes and control the risks – but only if we recognise and manage them. Mike will provide initial insights into the climate impacts that are already apparent and the work of climate adaptation leaders to support us all to build climate resilience.

Future seminars in the series will explore the issues surrounding the embedding of adaptation into our professions, from various perspectives: regulatory expectations; the insurance industry perspective; climate impacts on process and energy systems; management system best practices; and the ongoing work to build adaptive capacity through enhancing the training available to upskill industry and enable everyone to build resilience.

The series will also include some case studies of good practice – including adaptive process design, resilient infrastructure, and data-driven approaches – to illustrate how engineering solutions are already helping industry manage climate risks while turning challenges into opportunities.

Join us to find out how climate change may be impacting the outcomes of your work and how you can manage the risks and maximise opportunities.

Speaker

Dr Michael Nicholas, Senior Advisor: COMAH & Climate Change Adaptation, Environment Agency

Mike is a climate change adaptation and process safety expert at the Environment Agency (EA). He supports embedding of adaptation into management systems and the development of expectations and guidance for climate and environmental risk management, targeted at businesses in scope of EA’s regulatory activities.

His latest work has led to publication of an inspection delivery guide for COMAH, focusing on expectations for Natech risk management and climate change adaptation - Operational Delivery Guide: Inspection of COMAH Operator Natech and climate change adaptation

The material presented has not been peer-reviewed. Any opinions are the presenter’s own and do not necessarily represent those of IChemE or the Environment and Clean Technology Special Interest Group. The information is given in good faith but without any liability on the part of IChemE.

Time

12:00–13:00 BST.

Software

The presentation will be delivered via Microsoft Teams. We recommend downloading the app from the Microsoft website, rather than using the web portal. Please remember to update you Microsoft Teams app.