European Climate Resilience and Risk Management Initiative
Europe is increasingly exposed to climate risks such as floods, heatwaves and wildfires, which are already impacting infrastructure and buildings with significant economic and social consequences.
EGGA – Galvanizing Europe supports the upcoming European Climate Resilience and Risk Management Initiative as a key opportunity to strengthen EU’s resilient and competitive Europe . This framework should embed resilience across EU policy, particularly in infrastructure and construction, and align standards and investments with future climate realities.
EGGA strongly supports the principle of “climate resilience by design” and the use of durable, robust and high-performance materials. Construction materials must be able to withstand more extreme environmental conditions, contributing to both climate adaptation and resource efficiency.
The batch galvanizing industry supports a climate resilient Europe
The batch galvanizing industry provides the most durable form of protecting steel, by applying a strongly bonded coating of zinc metal to approximately 8 million tonnes of steel products every year.
Galvanized steel offers durability, low maintenance, and long-term value for public and private investment, helping to mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change. It is widely used in infrastructure, including bridges, highway guardrails and railway steelwork, construction works and vital net-zero technologies, notably electricity transmission towers and solar structures.
Durable materials and effective corrosion protection systems, such as galvanizing, are essential to extend asset lifetimes and reduce lifecycle costs, especially under increasingly extreme climate conditions.
Resilience by design
Climate adaptation and mitigation strategies must be systematically integrated in EU legislation, in particular in construction policy, public spending, procurement and infrastructure planning. This requires prioritising durability and long-term performance, supported by science-based risk assessments.
Since 2020, EGGA has been a member of the JRC Climate Change Adaptation Expert Network, following closely and engaging with its work. EGGA has followed from the early analysis of the implications of climate change on structural design to assessing the impact of climate change on the corrosion of the European building stock and transport infrastructure. We have also contributed to guidance on adapting buildings to climate change, wherehot dip galvanizing has been proposed as a suitable solution. EGGA will continue to follow and engage over future developments, including climatic actions maps, mapping of bridges and tunnels in TEN-T infrastructure networks, creating the methodology to assess their resilience and prioritising modernisation, and the second European Climate Risk Assessment.
EGGA has always stressed the importance of developing preventive strategies for the corrosion problems identified in the study ‘Expected implication of climate change on the corrosion of structures’. Our vast experience and case study collection proves that corrosion problems can be avoided with preventive strategies and special measures to increase durability. For example, the use of hot dip galvanizing can increase durability, increase resistance to wildfires or reduce corrosion induced by carbonation by use of galvanized reinforcing steel. Carbonation is one of the main effects of climate change on buildings, as it accelerates concrete deterioration and corrosion of reinforcement. Galvanized reinforcement increases the rebar resistance to carbonation effect on buildings, improving durability.
Regulations covering design and product policy for the civil engineering and construction sectors should include greater attention to climate resilience alongside direct and life cycle climate impacts. These actions should pay special attention to design and material choices for durability and corrosion protection that take into account medium-term climate resilience factors.
Procurement of construction and infrastructure, including critical infrastructure, should include ambitious minimum requirements for durability, taking into account the ability to deliver climate resilient infrastructure and helping to reduce economic losses from climate-related adverse events.
Key recommendations
Conclusion
Strengthening the resilience of infrastructure and buildings is essential in the face of a changing climate. EGGA calls for the systematic implementation of climate resilience by design and the promotion of durable materials. Aligning EU policy, standards and investments with future climate realities will help protect economic and social well-being and build a more resilient Europe.
