The International Institute for Sustainability published the executive summary of the study “Climate Change, Critical Infrastructures in Brazil and Economic Damage,” conducted in partnership with iCS. According to Sergio Margulis, the team leader responsible for the study, the water supply systems of some metropolitan regions, mainly in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, have a very high risk – although the climate projections for the southeast region are difficult, the trend is for droughts, some very strong, which could seriously threaten the water supply.

“This study is pioneering because there are no Brazilian references performing this type analysis of impacts on infrastructure. There are some but these do not quantify the losses from an economic point of view and use simpler methodologies. We learned that, more important than looking at a climate model and finding that the priorities indicated therein are the main ones, it is better to compare models and the variations between results. In other words, it is better to work with the largest possible number of models. For the level of analysis that we performed, the results are principally significant for hydroelectric plants and highways, in more or less well-known places, such as the roads in the southeast region and the dams in the north region (Madeira basin) and northeast. The study is a call to the national security agencies that, despite not wanting to divulge information about the vulnerability of infrastructure involving national security, there is a need to be aware that climate change is a potential threat – the study tries to search for critical structures that are more vulnerable and subject to economic impacts,” he explained.