Environmental Change Institute (ECI), University of Oxford’s Post

The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) annual State of the Nation Report, focusses on challenges in transport, energy and water infrastructure. It draws attention to the deteriorating state of many infrastructure assets, which is a challenge that civil and infrastructure engineers around the world are all facing. State of the Nation is the ICE’s annual flagship report. It identifies critical issues of the day and draws upon the tremendous expertise in the ICE’s membership to provide authoritative and useful analysis. Sometimes the issues are very much in the public eye, like water in this year’s report, where we just heard today that water bills in England and Wales will go up by £10 per month on average to fund infrastructure investment. On the other hand, the ICE shines a spotlight on issues that we do not think are getting enough attention, like the safety and maintenance of ageing structures which we have focussed on this year. The ICE is an international organisation based in London, and the SOTN report leverages that international strength. This is a report whose policy audience will mostly be in the nations of the UK: Norther Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England. But we draw upon the tremendous international expertise within the ICE’s membership, making use of examples from around the world. We work in a globalized industry in a shrinking world. As was underlined during my presidential visit to Institution of Civil Engineers Hong Kong Association (ICE HKA) a couple of weeks ago, countries around the world are facing similar challenges, of climate change, ageing infrastructure, and high construction costs. We have so much to learn from each other. So I have no doubt that decision makers from around the world who get a chance to read this State of the Nation report will be able to learn lessons that are helpful for where they are, and they may also recognise some familiar case studies. Thank you to all of the great engineers to contribute to this year's report, and to the ICE Knowledge team who have delivered an important report.