Climate change will have significant impacts on the design, construction, maintenance and operation of global road infrastructure. IPCC projections estimate that the Earth will become warmer, some regions will become wetter overall and some will become drier, sea levels will rise and storm surge height will increase, snow cover and extent of sea ice will reduce, and the frequency and severity of extreme weather events will increase. This in turn results in significant global and regional challenges related to climate change in both the short and long-term.

The PIARC International Climate Change Adaptation Framework for Roads guides road authorities through the process of increasing the resilience to climate change of their networks and assets through four stages: 

1. Identifying scope, variables, risks and data (Stage 1); 
2. Assessing and prioritising risks (Stage 2); 
3. Developing and selecting adaptation responses and strategies (Stage 3); 
4. Integrating findings into decision-making processes (Stage 4).

The work was based on 57 collected case studies that were analysed and classified by a dedicated TC internal Task Force. Further to this, by making available more than 100 case studies in total, the work of TC E.1 represents a comprehensive consolidation of state-of-the-art concepts applicable to climate change adaptation for roads. These detailed references can also be used as reference points for other world-wide projects being undertaken.