Question Period Note: Climate Change Adaptation

Climate Change Adaption

• Effective climate action includes adapting to changing conditions and climate impacts.
• The extreme weather events of summer 2021 brought climate-related damage into focus, including the tragic loss of life and livelihoods in Lytton, British Columbia.
• The federal government continues to invest in adaptation through a suite of investments including a 12-year, $1.4-billion increase to the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund in Budget 2021.
• A National Adaptation Strategy is in development with partners including provinces, territories, and Indigenous peoples.
• The federal government also continues to ensure the climate-resilience of its operations, to develop climate-resilient codes and standards, and to provide high-quality climate information to Canadians.

• The extreme weather events of summer 2021, which resulted in loss of life and livelihoods in Lytton, British Columbia, dramatically highlighted climate change-related impacts.
• By virtue of geography, Canada is vulnerable to wildfires, floods, thawing permafrost, and less-visible effects on oceans and ecosystems. In particular, the Arctic is warming at three times the global average rate.
• Even as greenhouse gas emissions decline, impacts and damage are projected to increase as a result of historical emissions. Preventing future damage requires investing in adaptation—across regions and sectors—as a complement to reducing emissions and responding to disasters.
• All orders of government, sectors of the economy, and individuals need high-quality information to make decisions about adaptation investments. Environment and Climate Change Canada, as the federal lead for adaptation, promotes access to this information through the Canadian Centre for Climate Services.
• The federal government also works to ensure the resilience of its own operations and makes targeted investments in programs that promote adaptation—one of the four pillars of the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change (2016).
• In December 2020, the Government of Canada committed to develop a National Adaptation Strategy to build on efforts to date and create a more ambitious, strategic and collaborative approach to adaptation.
o The strategy is being developed working with provincial, territorial and municipal governments, Indigenous peoples, and other key partners (e.g. youth and the private sector).
o The strategy will establish a shared vision for climate resilience in Canada; identify key priorities for increased collaboration; and establish a framework for measuring progress at the national level.
o Key partners for the strategy were engaged through a strategy development forum held in June 2021.
• Adaptation action will continue as the National Adaptation Strategy is being developed. The federal government is currently investing in adaptation measures through a number of departments and agencies. Adaptation programs funded in Budget 2021 included an additional $1.4 billion over 12 years, starting in 2021-22, for the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund of Infrastructure Canada. At least 10% of this top-up ($138 million) is allocated to Indigenous recipients.
• The Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund was created in 2018 with $2 billion over 10 years for infrastructure to mitigate the potential economic, environmental and social impacts of climate change, and to strengthen resilience to disasters triggered by natural hazards and extreme weather events. Specific project expenditures totalling $1.9 billion were announced between 2018 and 2020.

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