The second edition of the Montreal Climate Summit brought together a variety of actors last week to align Montreal on the path to carbon neutrality and ensure the resilience of its communities. Resilience was also the subject of honor, and that’s good.
Whether it’s the wildfire season, which started earlier and harder than ever in Alberta, or the flooding here in Quebec and British Columbia, this spring is a merciless reminder that climate change is already there.
Not only does climate change increase the frequency and severity of weather-related disasters across Canada, it also increases the cost of living for everyone.
When extreme weather conditions wreak havoc, it seems impossible to envision the years to come, or even the days to come. And while keeping people safe and supporting people is the top priority in the aftermath of a disaster, longer-term policies, planning and investments are essential to save lives and reduce the costs of future climate-induced destruction. .
More expensive than ever for the people of Canada
Over the past 50 years in Canada, the cost of weather-related disasters such as floods, storms and wildfires has risen from tens of millions of dollars to billions of dollars per year. From 2010 to 2019, insured losses for catastrophic weather events amounted to more than $18 billion, and the number of catastrophic events was more than three times that of the 1980s. Twelve of the fifteen weather disasters that have been the costliest for Canadian governments in terms of financial assistance since 2010, and three of them took place in British Columbia in 2021.
Climate change is also driving up the cost of living for everyone, whether they are located in disaster-prone areas or not. Each year, it costs each household an average of $700 in climate-related costs, whether it’s higher grocery bills due to disruptions in supply chains, increased premiums for home insurance or tax increases to pay for damages caused by weather events.
Without adaptation measures, climate change will continue to increase the cost of living in Canada, not to mention the dangers it poses.
It pays to help communities adapt
Governments across the country must significantly increase public investments in adaptation, before disasters strike. This is especially true for marginalized and equity-deserving communities, which are often at greater risk due to chronic underfunding of services and support, inadequate infrastructure and a legacy of discriminatory policies.
By ensuring communities have the resources and capabilities to keep people and infrastructure safe in the event of natural disasters, and by building critical infrastructure such as roads and electricity grids that can withstand harsh conditions. extreme weather can save lives and dramatically reduce costs.
For example, the use of weather-resistant materials in road maintenance and rehabilitation can reduce the cost of damage from heat and precipitation by up to 98%. This measure alone would generate up to $1.5 billion in savings in Québec over the next few decades. But for that, decision-makers must above all make strategic investments beforehand.
Canada lags far behind its peers in making and acting on adaptation a national priority. Although every dollar invested in adaptation yields economic benefits in the range of $13 to $15, climate change adaptation funding has consistently lagged behind other federal climate funding , provincial and territorial.
Released last fall, Canada’s National Adaptation Strategy represents an important step in fostering safer and more resilient communities. But this strategy is only a first step: governments must now make the necessary investments to make it a reality.
Anticipating future damage requires tackling adaptation with an urgency that usually only manifests itself in the aftermath of a disaster. With lives and livelihoods at stake, we cannot wait.