FAQs

Climate change refers to the long-term changes in global temperatures and weather patterns. While the earth’s climate has changed throughout history, we are currently experiencing a level of warming shown to be caused by human activity and the burning of fossil fuels (i.e. gasoline, coal, and oil), which release greenhouse gases (GHGs). These GHGs trap heat from the sun and cause Earth’s temperatures to rise, which results in changes to various weather patterns, influences ocean systems and sea levels, and disrupts ecological systems.

We have an existing Climate Change Adaptation Plan (CCAP) that was originally adopted in 2013. We are updating the plan as it was advised that revisions occur every 10 years. Since the last update, there have been significant advancements in climate science and new insights into local impacts, necessitating an update to ensure our strategies remain current and effective. The updated plan will propose adaptation actions for the 2025 to 2035 timeframe. 

Updating the Climate Change Adaptation Plan benefits the community by enhancing resilience to climate impacts, improving safety, guiding investments, promoting equity, and fostering long-term sustainability.

There are two ways to address climate change:

• CLIMATE MITIGATION: actions taken to eliminate GHG emissions to help slow the pace of global warming. Examples of climate mitigation include switching from fossil fuel heating sources (e.g. oil and gas) to renewable energy technology (e.g. geothermal or solar). 
• CLIMATE ADAPTATION: actions taken to minimize or prevent damage caused by climate change-induced weather events. This could include actions to reduce the exposure or vulnerability of environmental, social, and economic functions of the community to climate change impacts. Examples include planting more trees to increase shading from extreme heat or installing infrastructure to manage water runoff and prevent flooding during extreme rain events. 

This Project is focused on Climate Adaptation, and ensuring our city remains resilient in the face of increasing extreme weather events and climate change impacts.

In 2016, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) Paris Agreement was enacted to limit warming of the Earth to 1.5 degrees Celsius (globally we are already at about 1.2 degrees warmer than the pre-industrial period). Canada is a signatory to the Paris Agreement. UN’s IPCC indicates that keeping warming under the 1.5°C threshold will help limit the most severe climate change impacts (e.g.  more frequent and severe droughts, heatwaves, and rainfall).

If we eliminated all GHG emissions today, unfortunately we would continue to feel the affects of climate change for decades. This is because GHGs such as carbon dioxide remain in the atmosphere for a long time (decades), and their complex interaction with natural systems such as ocean temperature take a long time to readjust and stabilize. As a result, some level of adaptation will be needed regardless of eliminating GHGs. However, reducing GHG emissions will drastically slow down the most dangerous consequences of climate change where adaptation will be very expensive or very challenging to accomplish.