Canada is ill-prepared for the increased flooding and extreme weather that climate change will bring, and needs to act now, a new report expected to be released today has claimed.
The report – which comes as the insurance industry is increasingly concerned over the cost of weather-related events and natural disasters post-Fort McMurray – warns that the country must take action or face much higher costs to fix damaged buildings and infrastructure in the future.
The University of Waterloo’s
Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation evaluated provincial efforts to mitigate disasters from the flooding that will be caused by extreme weather and rising sea levels.
It concluded that the threat will escalate over time and must be combated by concerted action,
CBC News reports.
Stressing the need for urgent action, the centre’s head commented: “The one factor that is not well understood in Canada is that every day we don’t adapt is a day we don’t have.”
Blair Feltmate, who is also a professor in the faculty of environment at the university, continued: “We do not have the luxury of time; we’ve got to move on this file immediately… we must build adaptation into the system now because if we don’t, the economic consequences and the social disruption it’s going to bring to the country will be very substantial.”
Feltmate urged Ottawa and the provinces to appoint a “chief adaptation officer” who would be responsible for identifying areas of strengths and weaknesses in flood preparednesss, and would produce regular audits of the jurisdiction’s commitments and actions.
The professor also recommended that the provinces restrict construction on flood plains, and where such building has occurred, take action to limit potential flood damage.
The report surveyed each province and the Yukon territory on 12 factors related to preparedness to limit flood damage, according to
CBC, which included flood-plain mapping and land-use planning; the availability of home adaptation audits and commercial property; and climate-related assessments of transportation, energy, drinking water and sewage systems.
The report comes as major infrastructure programs are expected to be announced tomorrow by the federal government as part of its fall update, but finds that the provinces have not yet properly assessed how to make the country’s transportation, electricity and water systems more resilient to the threat from climate change.
Meanwhile, federal, provincial and territorial governments are working toward a pan-Canadian climate strategy, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau scheduling a first ministers meeting for December 09, when he hopes to conclude a deal.
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