Taking action to adapt to climate change will help protect the health, well-being, and prosperity of Canadians and manage risks to communities, businesses, and ecosystems. Preparing for the effects of climate change before they happen will make our communities stronger and healthier for this generation and the next. That’s why the Government of Canada is making significant investments to help communities build their resilience to climate change as a key part of our plan to address climate change.
The Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna, announced the launch of the Expert Panel on Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Results, appointing Water Institute member and head of the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation, Blair Feltmate, as the chair of the Expert Panel.
Acting now to deal with current and future climate change impacts will help protect Canadians from climate change risks and reduce their costs from climate-related damage and health issues. By developing made-in-Canada adaptation expertise and technology to deal with the effects of climate change, we will create good middle-class jobs and spur innovation. The work of the Expert Panel will help us to better understand how all levels of government are helping to protect communities across Canada from the effects of climate change.
The Expert Panel will advise the Government of Canada on measuring progress on adaptation and climate resilience to better understand how federal, provincial, and territorial adaptation efforts are building Canada’s resilience to climate change, for instance, by providing up-to-date information, supporting climate-smart infrastructure, and updating building codes. The panel will also support the federal government in better communicating to Canadians how we are preparing for and adapting to the current and future impacts of climate change.
The panel will include academic, private sector, government, non-government, and Indigenous representation, engaging with provinces and territories in its work.
The panel will also support the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change, which is Canada’s plan to meet our greenhouse gas emissions reduction target, build resilience to the impacts of climate change, and create clean growth and jobs through investments in clean technology, innovation, and infrastructure.
All regions of Canada are subject to the impacts of a changing climate. In response to these impacts, the Expert Panel will serve a critical role in informing how we measure progress on advancing resilience and limiting extreme weather risk experienced by Canadians.