Green Analytics Corp., 2020. Investing In Canada's Future: The Cost Of Climate Adaptation At The Local Level.
Executive Summary:
Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather events across Canada. In 2019, the federal government released the report Canada’s Changing Climate. It found that the annual average temperature in Canada has increased by 1.7°C since 1948, with higher temperature increases in Canada’s North, the Prairies and northern British Columbia. While every region in Canada experiences the impacts of the warming climate differently, evidence indicates an increase in the severity of heat waves and drought, more frequent and intense rainfall events, changes in snow and ice cover, and more frequent and intense storm surges in coastal regions. For Canada and its economy, the consequences are severe. While a number of studies have attempted to measure the cost of climate change in terms of the damage it will cause or the impact it will have on the economy, there is more to be done to estimate the cost of adapting to climate change.
Climate change adaptation, or disaster mitigation, means taking strategic actions to reduce a community’s vulnerability to the impacts of climate change. In the past decade, climate adaptation in Canada has progressed from research, to public engagement, to actions to reduce the impacts of climate change. All levels of government have developed climate change adaptation strategies and are investing in specific adaptation measures. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) commissioned Green Analytics to establish a credible estimate of the investment in municipal infrastructure and local adaptation measures needed to reduce the impacts of climate change in Canada.
Municipalities, as the owners and operators of 60% of the public infrastructure in Canada, are on the frontlines of both the impacts of climate change and the solutions to protect Canadians. However, addressing climate risks by retrofitting existing infrastructure and implementing new adaptation measures poses an additional burden on the limited financial capacity of municipalities. Municipalities cannot shoulder the cost of adapting to climate change alone. Climate change adaptation is a shared responsibility among all orders of government, and will require a long-term commitment to action. This study is the first attempt to estimate the long-term need for investment in climate change adaptation measures at the local level.