Environment committee  As I said, we're a smaller jurisdiction, so we talk among departments very quickly. We have a very good net-zero program in our department to fight climate change. I think Haseen is right. If we can understand where to go and how that's going to relate back, it makes it a lot easier for us. The federal government is very big compared with the P.E.I. government, so it's very hard to navigate that sometimes.

Environment committee  Haseen Khan, the director of the water resource management division of the Department of Environment and Climate Change. Without further ado, gentlemen, we'll begin. You will each have a maximum of five minutes for your address. Mr. Ledgerwood, please go ahead.

Environment committee  On the net-zero accelerator fund we have in place to try to drive some of this innovation, there's $8 billion going into that fund, which is critical for Canada to meet its climate change goals. However, it also has an impact on water. Is there anything else around that we might include in our study in terms of air impact or heat impact on water?

Environment committee  On agriculture, something that agriculture and the farm community have really picked up on is beneficial management practice—looking at things that will help with water, with climate change and biodiversity. Can you comment on the importance of clean technology in those fields?

Environment committee  It's also clear that what the future holds in store for us includes droughts, precipitation and other disturbances caused by climate change. We expect disputes between users to become more frequent. How do you think the Canada Water Agency will be able to contribute to this dialogue? Earlier on, Mr. Donnelly mentioned that the parties could be brought together for discussions and preparations.

Environment committee  Thank you. My time is running out. As we all know, climate change is having a significant impact on our freshwater resources. Can you discuss the importance of emissions reduction efforts and B.C.'s approach to protecting freshwater resources, please?

Environment committee  I would just add that for B.C. we have started with an ambitious approach on mitigating climate change. We have a CleanBC strategy that we're well into the implementation of. For the province, a first step is to take serious action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. There is a climate preparedness and adaptation strategy that has been in place now for years with significant funding.

Environment committee  Building on the success of Saskatchewan's dryland farming, expanding irrigation promises additional economic and climate change benefits. The Lake Diefenbaker irrigation project will produce over 297 million kilograms more food per year. Based on our initial research, irrigated crop acres will be 16% less emissions-intensive than our already carbon-efficient dryland crops.

Environment committee  This includes ensuring that the financial institutions we regulate are managing appropriately the risks that could impact their safety and soundness. Among these are the physical and transition risks associated with climate change. While OSFI does not have an explicit mandate to advance climate change objectives, our current mandate provides us with ample scope to take action to ensure the financial institutions respond to the opportunities and threats of climate change effectively.

Environment committee  Risky fossil fuel investments by our financial institutions are a clear risk to the climate and they are fuelling the climate crisis. Consideration of both the impacts of climate change on our financial institutions and the impacts of financial institutions on climate change is called double materiality. I encourage the committee to explore this concept as part of its study.

Environment committee  Good afternoon, and thank you for the opportunity to address the committee. I'm the program manager for financial research at InfluenceMap, which is a global climate-change think tank conducting research into how corporations and financial institutions are affecting climate change. The past few years have seen a significant growth in companies' recognition of the importance of climate change and the risks it poses.

Environment committee  Thank you very much. My analysis assumes that everything Mr. van Koeverden would say about climate change is true. It accepts the proposition that there is anthropomorphic climate change and that the situation is as has been widely suggested. I'm not suggesting anything to the contrary.

Environment committee  There are two parts to climate change. There's physical risk and there is transition risk. On physical risk, through the insurance industry we have a sense of what the increase in catastrophes and the cost of the catastrophes are as a result of climate change.

Environment committee  This is the second week in a row that Conservatives have brought witnesses to committee who argue against ambitious climate action. Mr. Pardy published an article criticizing the Supreme Court for stating that climate change is an existential threat to Canada. He posted on the platform X that, “Even if you believe in anthropogenic climate change, there is no rationale for this country to have emission reduction targets of any kind.”

Environment committee  Thank you, Chair. My question is for Mr. Routledge. In what ways does climate change impact the financial system that governments are not accounting for?