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0 The effects of climate change in Canada have certainly not gone unnoticed as specific adaptation measures have been implemented to address the issue.
An overview of some of these measures includes: (a) making climate change information and education more widely available; (b) investing in natural infrastructure that protects the country from climate change disasters (c) improving the resilience of buildings and structures by developing building codes (d) providing support to regions most affected by climate change such as the coasts of Canada and the North (e) preserving the natural environment and ecosystems.
The Standards Council of Canada is working hand-in-hand with the country’s national standards network. It is responsible for developing and executing solutions to climate change impacts on Canadians’ health and welfare and the economy. With this measure, adequate support is provided to the Northern Infrastructure Standardization Initiative.
The National Research Council develops guides that integrate climate resiliency into buildings and rehabilitating public infrastructure. Examples include potable water systems, roads, bridges, roads and wastewater systems.
Regarding transportation, the Northern Transportation Adaptation Initiative funds initiatives to address significant challenges of climate change. This strategy is in place in Yukon, Nunavut, Northwest Territories, and Nunavik and Nunatsiavut.
In infrastructure investments, Canada is putting in significant efforts in seeing that lives and property are protected from wildfires, floods, and other disasters.
Canada is investing in both natural and artificial solutions to enhance resilience.
These investments include $9.2 billion for bilateral agreements with provinces and territories for projects, including those that have adaptation and climate resilience,
$40 million for developing climate-resilient building and infrastructure codes, $2 billion for a Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund for natural and artificial large-scale infrastructure projects. These projects help enhance the resilience of infrastructures to natural disasters, extreme weather events and climate change in Canada.
For example, the Climate Lens implements a GHG mitigation assessment and a climate change resilience assessment into newly developing infrastructure projects. It is a requirement applicable to Infrastructure Canada’s Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program, Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund, and Smart Cities Challenge.
In more specific terms, the Greening Government Strategy is a plan in motion that sees that assets and operations can adequately withstand climate change impacts. According to the government website, Greening government operations will be supportive of Canada’s sustainability commitments outlined under the Paris Agreement, the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change, and the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Another strategy is the Federal Adaptation Policy Framework which performs the role of examining climate risks in decision-making processes that predominantly affect Canadians’ well-being.
In December 2016, the Arctic Policy Framework – a combined effort between the Government of Canada, provinces and territories, and Northerners and Indigenous Peoples, was put in place to support adaptation policies towards the year 2030.
The Federal Sustainable Development Strategy is another strategy geared towards setting and achieving sustainability goals, particularly those that pertain to climate action affecting the Pan-Canadian Framework.
The Emergency Management Strategy for Canada, implemented in 2019 handles adaptation strategy to improve the country’s resilience. The goal is to make Canada a completely resilient place to climate change by 2030. Plans to achieve this include improving the ability to identify and access risks, responsiveness to situations and effective adaptation measures to recover from disasters.
Natural infrastructure is also an adaptation measure for communities, providing various benefits and supporting healthy and several terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Federal, provincial and territorial governments are developing best practices and guidance to encourage people to use natural infrastructure.
These are relevant adaptation strategies in use today. While they are functional, there is a need for us to develop better adaptation strategies. We can only do this by enhancing our adaptation capacity. How can we go about this? Join us again tomorrow as we dissect this subject matter explicitly.
(Reference:https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/climate-change/adapting/plans.html)
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