Lisø PhD Dissertation Manuscript - NTNU

ence Years, as a basis for the improvement of advanced
modelling tools (e.g. computational fluid dynamics
applications), are now being considered. Historical
weather data will be compared with climate
change scenarios for different parts of Norway, and
the scale of impacts derived from this analysis.
6.3 Adaptation strategies
In Norway, there are many weather-beaten areas
where it is particularly important to take into account
local climatic challenges. The basis for calculating
characteristic wind and snow loads on buildings
is regulated by Norwegian and international
standards. At present there are no corresponding,
easily accessible design guidelines for the quantifying
and sizing of external and internal moisture
loads. Thus, assessments of building structures’
moisture safety levels will receive special attention
in the Climate 2000-programme. Climate change,
building performance and standardisation will be
discussed through established networks within the
International Organization for Standardization
(ISO), the European Committee for Standardization
(CEN) and our co-operation with the Norwegian
Council for Building Standardisation. Climate
change could have a major impact on the frequency
of extreme weather events. The safety levels in
Norwegian building regulations and codes regarding
undesirable incidents should therefore be reviewed
regularly in order to maintain a proper level of reliability.
The importance of scale is considered key to understanding
and addressing climate change impacts
and vulnerability. Assessments of vulnerability, sensitivity,
robustness and resilience are scaledependent,
and it would be misleading to extrapolate
climate change scenarios and assessment results
across scales (i.e. whether impacts are assessed at a
national, regional or a local level) (O’Brien et al., in
press).
It is likely that climate change will adversely affect
property insurance. Insurance companies could
be vulnerable to climate change through changes in
frequency of storms and floods. The construction industry’s
determination and ability to respond to climate
change will be an important factor in the development
of adaptation strategies.
Strategies for climate change adaptation should
be developed with due consideration for other agendas
for change within the construction industry, including
the general movement towards industrialisation,
prefabrication and off-site construction (Lowe
2001).
7 CONCLUSIONS
Climate change will entail new conditions for the
Norwegian construction industry. Knowledge about
the implications of climate change on building enclosure
performance will be of the utmost importance
to the industry in the years to come.
The built environment has an expected lifetime
from 60 to more than 100 years. The potential implications
of climate change over the next decades
should therefore be considered when constructing
buildings today. We believe that future building
regulations and codes should not only be based on
historical weather data, but also on future climate
development scenarios. This is particularly important
with respect to the preparation of Norwegian
appendices to national and international standards
associated with the various types of climatic impact.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This paper has been written within the Norwegian
Research & Development Programme “Climate
2000 – Building constructions in a more severe climate”
(2000 – 2005). The authors gratefully acknowledge
all our construction industry partners.
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