Resilience & Transition Tech

Presentation

The Technology Taxonomy for Climate Resilience and Transition (ClimaTech) research project at the EDHEC Climate Institute is dedicated to developing knowledge on technology-driven solutions that enable infrastructure assets to decarbonise and strengthen resilience against climate risks.

Infrastructure sits at the centre of the climate challenge—both as a major contributor to global emissions and as an asset class that is highly vulnerable to climate change. As the world transitions to a low-carbon economy, infrastructure companies face two major risks:

• Transition risks from evolving regulations, market shifts, and technological advancements.
• Physical risks from increasing climate hazards such as floods, storms, wildfires, and extreme heat.

Understanding and mitigating these risks is no longer optional—it is essential to preserve asset value, ensure operational resilience, and meet regulatory and market expectations.

The ClimaTech Database: The Largest Global Repository for Infrastructure Decarbonisation & Resilience

At the core of ClimaTech is the ClimaTech database—the world’s most comprehensive repository of decarbonisation and resilience measures for infrastructure. This database systematically evaluates strategies for 101 infrastructure subclasses, offering:

• Decarbonisation Strategies: Categorised by Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions to provide targeted solutions.
• Resilience Measures: Focusing on adaptation to floods, storms, extreme heat, and wildfires.
• Evidence-Based Insights: Each measure is backed by scientific research and expert assessments on effectiveness and implementation feasibility.

In addition to the ClimaTech database, ClimaTech produces scientifically reviewed research papers for eight infrastructure superclasses, along with real-world case studies demonstrating the practical application of its insights.

Figure: Components of the ClimaTech database

Key applications of the ClimaTech database include:

• Sector-Specific Risk Analysis: Allows for sector-wide risk assessments, providing projections of potential climate-related outcomes based on risks and available mitigation strategies.
• Asset-Specific Risk Analysis: Can be integrated with emissions and climate models to deliver granular asset-level risk and mitigation assessments for decision-making.
• Portfolio Risk Management: Enables a consistent framework for assessing risk exposure and evaluating mitigation strategies across diverse infrastructure assets.
• Investment Prioritisation: Helps identify high-priority projects by assessing the cost-effectiveness of emissions mitigation and resilience strategies.
• Validation of Corporate Commitments: Can be used to benchmark corporate climate targets and transition plans against evidence-based insights to assess feasibility and realism.

Ensuring Scientific Rigour & Industry Validation

The ClimaTech database is a continuously evolving resource, designed to stay relevant and robust in addressing infrastructure-related climate risks. A dedicated Review Board, comprising experts from academia, the private sector, construction standards, sovereign wealth funds, public pension funds, consulting, and regulatory bodies, regularly assesses and refines the project’s outputs to ensure the highest scientific and industry standards.

The EDHEC Climate Institute gratefully acknowledges the support that the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has provided to its green infrastructure research