Report

The Integration of Climate Data into the SAVi Model

C3S_428h_IISD-EU: Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi): Demonstrating the business case for climate-resilient and sustainable infrastructure

By Andrea Bassi, Ronja Bechauf, Liesbeth Casier, Sergio Lago, Georg Pallaske, Oshani Perera, Mahé Perrette, David Uzsoki on September 28, 2020
  • Did you know that solar photovoltaic efficiency diminishes as a function of air temperature at a rate of approximately 0.5% per 10°C?

  • Did you know that a 1% change in river discharge would result in a 1% change in hydropower generation?

  • Did you know that the power output of geothermal power will decrease by about 1% for each 0.56°C (1°F) increase in air temperature?

This report outlines the integration of authoritative Copernicus Climate Data from the Climate Data Store (CDS) into the Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) tool. It describes how several climate indicators obtained from the CDS were integrated into SAVi and how its analysis has improved as a result. In light of this integration, IISD can generate sophisticated SAVi-derived analyses on the costs of climate-related risks and climate-related externalities.

This document presents:

  • A summary of the literature review conducted on the impact of weather on several subsectors of infrastructure—energy, water, nature-based infrastructure, buildings, materials management, roads, and transport.
  • Equations found in the literature that link climate variables to the performance of infrastructure services across all of these subsectors. For example, these services include power generation, irrigation, wastewater treatment, and mobility solutions. In the case of nature-based infrastructure, these services include ecosystem services and their derived infrastructure and climate adaptation benefits.
  • How the above information was used to select relevant indicators from the Copernicus database.
  • An indication of how outputs of the CDS datasets are integrated into the SAVi system dynamics models and how simulation results can be affected using this new and improved set of indicators.

Report details

Topic
Climate Change Adaptation
Infrastructure
Focus area
Climate
Publisher
IISD
Copyright
ECMWF, 2020