The Thermodynamic Cliff: Pricing the Climate Adaptation Gap in Digital Infrastructure


Aghili S., UĞURAL M. N.

Systems, cilt.14, sa.1, 2026 (SSCI, Scopus) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 14 Sayı: 1
  • Basım Tarihi: 2026
  • Doi Numarası: 10.3390/systems14010034
  • Dergi Adı: Systems
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Compendex, Directory of Open Access Journals
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: asset valuation, capital expenditure (CapEx), infrastructure resilience, non-linear systems, physical climate risk, physics-of-failure
  • İstanbul Kültür Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Conventional climate-risk frameworks, ranging from ESG ratings to Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs), systematically underestimate physical risks by overlooking the non-linear physics that govern infrastructure failure. These top-down models perceive climate change as a manageable operational expense, thereby obscuring the substantial capital requirements necessary to sustain system reliability as global temperatures escalate. This study proposes a physics-first framework to quantify the “Adaptation Gap”—a measurable, unaccounted-for capital liability representing the additional cost needed to upgrade assets to maintain fault tolerance. Within this specific geographic and asset context, it has been determined that restoring fault tolerance for new equipment necessitates a 19.7% (95% CI: 16.5–22.9%) increase in capital expenditure, which increases the Adaptation Gap to 28.7% for typical in-service assets, potentially increasing the true cost for aging assets to between 25% and 30%. Although the quantitative findings are specific to the case study, the methodological framework—assessed as superior to traditional risk metrics—is designed for global application in pricing the Adaptation Gap across all infrastructure sectors with thermal constraints. Our methodology provides a blueprint for establishing a new standard of climate-adjusted valuation, transforming abstract physical risks into a tangible, auditable capital liability.