Our first Dredging Today Conference took place last month at Amsterdam RAI Convention Center under the theme ‘Changing Climate, Resilient Business’.
The two-day event gathered expert speakers and panelists to discuss how the world in which the dredging industry operates is changing.
In the opening session, the keynote speakers presented topical insights on the global picture for dredging, covering the main drivers for dredging: expected developments in world trade, urban development near coastlines, coastal protection, offshore energy and tourism and leisure.
The second part of our ‘Thematical Session: Climate Change and Its Impact on Dredging’, included discussion about the effects of climate change, both physical (for example with sea level rise, flooding and erosion) and non-physical (for example by changing client demands regarding operations, driving CO2 reductions and use of alternative fuels, among others).
The Physical Aspects of Climate Change: Rising Sea Levels, was the topic of Mr Rob van Dorland’s presentation.
The Senior Adviser Climate at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (Koninklijk Nederlands Meteorologisch Instituut – KNMI) stated that the increase of concentrations of CO2CH4 and N2O is primarily due to human activities. He also talked about observations and climate models.