Topic: Adaptation Research

Partners for Climate Protection Program

The Partners for Climate Protection (PCP) program is a network of Canadian municipalities that have committed to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and acting on climate change. Delivered by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, the PCP program provides tools and resources to support municipalities in achieving their emissions reduction targets.

This insights report details real examples of how Canadian municipalities are leading the charge on climate action. Read on the discover how the PCP program is supporting innovative climate action initiatives in municipalities of all sizes.

National State of Professional Workforce Knowledge and Skills to Action Climate Change Adaptation Survey (2023) Final Report

Earnscliffe Strategy Group conducted research for Natural Resources Canada to assess the preparedness of professionals in fields like engineering, planning, accounting, and landscape architecture to integrate climate change considerations into their work.

The National Adaptation Strategy emphasizes the importance of a skilled workforce in building climate-resilient communities and economies. The research aimed to identify gaps in knowledge and skills among these professionals, highlight training needs, and inform strategies for developing a skilled workforce.

The findings will help design climate change adaptation programs, understand the current labor market context, and target resources to create a diverse and inclusive workforce capable of addressing climate change across various sectors, including natural resources.

Plan2Adapt

Climate change impacts do not affect every region of British Columbia in the same way. The Plan2Adapt tool generates maps, plots, and data describing projected future climate conditions for regions throughout British Columbia.

About the Tool:

  • Assists users in assessing climate change in their region based on a standard set of climate model projections.
  • Is similar to the PCIC Climate Explorer (PCEX) and uses the same data to generate its output.

Banking on Green A Look at How Green Infrastructure Can Save Municipalities Money and Provide Economic Benefits Community-wide.

The Banking on Green report focuses on the economic impacts caused by polluted urban runoff, also known as “stormwater,” and the co-benefits of energy reduction, flood mitigation, and improved public health outcomes. The report provides case studies and examples which highlight instances of how green infrastructure can provide cost-effective adaptation solutions. Green Infrastructure (GI) can help increase energy efficiency with green roofs and reduce heating and cooling costs. Additionally, GI practices that capture, infiltrate, and reuse rainwater can reduce the energy needed to pump and treat drinking water and wastewater.

Adapting to Urban Heat: A Tool Kit for Local Governments

Adapting to Urban Heat: A Tool Kit for Local Governments is designed to help local governments reduce the effects of increased heat on their communities and citizens.  The report provides an analytic tool for policy makers to consider a combination of four built-environment changes (cool roofs, green roofs, cool pavements, and urban forestry), providing clear criteria for selecting among these approaches. It also examines the roles government can play in pursuing these changes: shaping government’s own operations, mandating or providing incentives for private choices, and engaging in public education.

A Guidebook on Climate Scenarios

This guide is a useful tool of reference for both the climate change adaptation community and for those wanting to communicate climate information to decision-makers. The guide highlights the importance of working in collaboration with climate service providers and increases capacity of climate adaptation practitioners to better understand climate information. Those that use climate data regularly will find in this document ways to best showcase their results for different target audiences.

The guide provides fact sheets of key concepts in future climate modeling, outlines a framework to categorize climate information, provides a catalogue of climate information formats that can be associated to one of the categories identified in the document, discusses best practices in using future climate information given its inherent uncertainty, and highlights some case studies of how climate information can be used to guide decisions in climate change adaptation.