Chapter 06 · Governance & regulationGovernance, Ethics & Risk
Critical infrastructure
Definition
Critical infrastructure comprises the physical and virtual assets, systems and networks so vital that their incapacity or destruction would have a debilitating effect on security, the economy, public health or safety. The US CISA defines 16 critical infrastructure sectors; the EU's NIS2 Directive (2022/2555) similarly regulates essential and important entities. Definitions increasingly extend beyond built assets to natural and virtual systems.
References
definition and scope
regulatory frameworks
Overview
What it means
The systems a society cannot afford to lose — and therefore the priority targets for resilience, adaptation and security policy.
How it is used
Governments designate sectors and operators subject to risk-management and reporting duties; climate adaptation planning assesses critical infrastructure exposure to hazards such as flooding, heat and storms.
Why it matters
Climate change raises the failure risk of critical infrastructure; protecting it is central to climate resilience and disaster risk reduction.