Mr. Speaker, the report “From Impacts to Adaptation: Canada in a Changing Climate 2007”, coordinated by Natural Resources Canada and published on March 7, 2008, is a comprehensive scientific assessment of climate change impacts and adaptation in Canada. The goal of the report was to provide a state-of-the-science synthesis that identified important climate change impacts in Canada and to provide a knowledge foundation for adaptation decision-making.
Since publication of “From Impacts to Adaptation: Canada in a Changing Climate 2007”, the Government of Canada through various departments and agencies has undertaken a number of initiatives to improve its knowledge of the economic costs of both climate change impacts and of adaptation. These on-going initiatives include: 1. Natural Resources Canada’s “Guidance on the Economics of Adaptation” project which will provide practical guidelines to better i) understand and assess the economic threats and opportunities presented by climate change and ii) cost, prioritize and sequence adaptation strategies into plans and budgets in a context of uncertainty and competing needs. 2. Environment Canada’s examination of approaches to estimating and forecasting the economic impacts of climate change which will focus initially on the economic impacts on Canadian space heating and cooling expenditures, agriculture production, and costs associated with sea level rise. 3. The National Roundtable on the Environment and Economy’s “Economic Risks and Opportunities of Climate Change” program which includes research to estimate sector-specific costs of climate change impacts and the role of adaptation in reducing costs, focussing on public infrastructure, human health, forestry, and coastal zones.
In addition to this work on methodologies and cross-sectoral analysis, many federal departments are now looking at the economic costs of climate change impacts and adaptation as part of their own risk management processes.
One of the key findings of “Canada in a Changing Climate” was that a wide range of players are involved in adaptation decision-making, including all levels of government, the private sector, and individuals / community organizations. Hence additional work on the economic costs of adaptation is being undertaken by provincial and territorial governments, municipalities, resource managers, etc.
Natural Resources Canada has developed a new regional adaptation collaborative, RAC, program to help advance adaptation decision-making across Canada by drawing together a diverse array of public and private stakeholders and focusing on the development of guidance and best practices, including economic analysis. The program will support focussed collaboration at the regional level among government, non-government decision-makers, and technical experts to facilitate regional adaptation planning and decision-making. More information can be found at www.adaptation.nrcan.gc.ca.