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:
The report describes the results of an initial study to advance policies and practices in British Columbia, and elsewhere, with regard to the use of “soft” shore armouring alternatives within the context of climate change, sea level rise practices and guidelines and flood protection.
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 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.
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.