Planning for Climate Change
Scientific evidence indicates that the world's climate has changed significantly over historical time and will continue to do so. At least part of this change is natural, but the majority of international scientists subscribe to the view that human activities, such as emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, are contributing to the acceleration of climate change. Whether natural or induced by human activities, the changing climate will have significant effects on Canadian cities and communities over the next 100 years. Melting of permafrost will affect development of northern communities, rising sea level and more severe storms will cause flooding and damage in coastal municipalities, and water supply will be threatened in prairie cities, to name just a few of the expected impacts. Forward-looking municipalities will start to factor these changes into the planning of their communities. However, the specifics of climate change are hard to pin down, planners may not be well-versed in scientific practice and terminology, and the profession has relatively little experience in incorporating climate change factors into the planning process.
From 2003-2006, a project lead by the Earth Sciences Sector (ESS) of Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), focused on helping planners evaluate the vulnerability of Canadian municipalities to climate change and determine appropriate adaptation and mitigation strategies. The project called Municipal Case Studies: the planning process and climate change, included five municipal case studies across the country, addressing a sample of the major climate change impacts facing Canadian communities. These included water resource depletion, coastal erosion due to higher sea levels, and permafrost melting. This project was part of the ESS Reducing Canada's Vulnerability to Climate Change Program.
The desired outcome of this project, from NRCan's perspective, was for municipalities and planners to be able to evaluate and use scientific information on climate change in the planning process. From the planners' point of view it represented an opportunity to develop best practices for the incorporation of climate change into the planning process.
For more information and plain language synthesis documents of the five case studies click here to view these completed projects.
Information provided by the Earth Sciences Sector - Natural Resources Canada.
