Climate Change: Improved Federal Coordination Could Facilitate Use of Forward-Looking Climate Information in Design Standards, Building Codes, and Certifications, GAO-17-3: Published: Nov 30, 2016. Publicly Released: Jan 3, 2017.
“The houses we live in, buildings we work in, and roads and bridges we use daily are supposed to be built to last—whatever the local forecast has in store. However, design standards and building codes generally use historical climate observations. Forward-looking climate information would help account for the changing frequency and intensity of extreme weather. Continuing to build with current standards and codes could cost the government billions of dollars in repairs, flood insurance, and disaster relief. We recommend that federal agencies work together to provide forward-looking climate information for consideration in standards and codes….”