News

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has released the second report for its sixth major assessment of the science of climate change; Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Linda Mortsch, IC3 member, adjunct professor with the Faculty of Environment, and retired Senior Researcher with Environment and Climate Change Canada, is a coordinating lead author for the North American chapter. She discusses the chapter’s findings.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has released the second report for its sixth major assessment of the science of climate change; Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Luna Khirfan, IC3 member and Associate Professor at the School of Planning, is a Lead Author for Chapter 6: Cities, settlements, and key infrastructure. She discusses the report’s findings and her research.

Luna Khirfan, Linda Mortsch, and Robert McLeman contribute to the new climate change report released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC’s Working Group II (WGII) report, which provides a comprehensive scientific assessment of the impacts and adaptation strategies of a warming planet, is a key input for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and informs international negotiations to address climate change. 

On February 9, Health Canada announced the release of Health of Canadians in a Changing Climate: Advancing our Knowledge for Actionwhich will help inform policy development focused on protecting Canadians from the effects of climate change. The report provides a comprehensive assessment of the latest research on how climate-related hazards are affecting our health and wellbeing. This reports also documents the increasing risks and new information on Indigenous health impacts, mental health, health equity, and health system resilience. To find out more and continue the conversation, join IC3 on March 9 for an informative discussion with lead authors and a panel of Waterloo's climate change and health experts. 

The University of Waterloo is finishing their participation in an exciting new collaborative program, Climate Connect; involving 60+ students and 20+ researchers from across the world to gather and discuss climate change. IC3 member, Angela Carter, and IC3's managing director, Simon Glauser, reflected on the program's benefits with the help of upper-year students Simrit Dhillon, Nilusha Rattansi and Philip Zuidema. 

Kelly Skinner, associate professor in the School of Public Health Sciences and IC³ member, was appointed a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Applied Public Health Chair in Healthy environments for climate change and food security in northern Canada.

The Government of Canada has announced 43 Canada Research Chairs (CRC), including IC³ member Professor Ashley Rose Mehlenbacher of the Faculty of Arts, who holds the CRC in Science, Health, and Technology Communication. Concurrently announced, Mehlenbacher has also won funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) to support her research infrastructure.

IC3 members Luna Khirfan, Robert McLeman and Linda Mortsch are lead authors in the upcoming Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC's) Working Group II report on impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. The report is due to be released on February 28, 2022 and assess the impacts and risks of climate change, looking at ecosystems, biodiversity, and human communities at global and regional levels. It will also review vulnerabilities and the capacities and limits of the natural world and human societies to adapt to climate change.

As witnessed in recent weeks, rising seas, swollen atmospheric rivers and post-tropical storms are a threat to community infrastructure, housing and the safety of those living along Canada’s east and west coasts. In response, new guidance from the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation, University of Waterloo, presents practical solutions to limit the financial and social costs of these evolving risks.

Congratulations to Waterloo professors and IC3 members, Zahid Butt, Wesley Van Wychen, Chul Min Yeum, Michelle Rutty, and Yimin Wu, on receiving funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s (CFI) John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF).