Against the backdrop of the smoke that persisted despite the valiant efforts of all available personnel, from here and elsewhere, to fight the forest fires, the federal government unveiled its adaptation strategy on June 27.
If it’s not the fires, it’s the floods or landslides caused by heavy rains, the ice that knocks down our trees, our power lines and pylons or even heat waves, which sometimes have disastrous consequences. These upheavals are also hurting our economy by shutting down business activities to allow for recovery. Reducing the recovery time of affected communities thanks to the strengthening of adaptation measures is also one of the targets of the strategy.
This strategy therefore comes at the right time for a country that is warming up faster than the rest of the planet and which must increasingly come to terms with the associated consequences.
Decrease vulnerability
Ouranos1 recently reported that “Experts strongly fear that the average annual surface temperature of the planet, for each year between 2023 and 2027, will be 1.1 to 1.8 ° C higher than the average of the reference period of 1850 -1900”. In short, we are currently reaching the critical threshold of 1.5 degrees of warming. It’s time to tie your tuque with a brooch despite the heat wave because it’s going to stir.
What we are seeing more and more is that our governments are gradually losing control over political orientations because they have to respond to the emergencies of the moment, in connection with extreme weather phenomena, boosted by climate change.
Farmers are compensated for droughts or floods. Evacuees are compensated for forest fires, tornadoes, hurricanes or floods. We are blissfully observing the soaring costs of food, raw materials and insurance premiums.
In this context, a strategy is essential: adaptation. But let’s be clear, adapting does not mean giving up. Climate change measures, such as carbon pricing, capping greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the oil and gas sector, or clean fuel regulations, remain highly relevant. But the complementarity of adaptation measures should no longer be in doubt for our governments, or those who aspire to govern. And you have to work twice as hard.
Concrete, quickly
The strategy unveiled by the federal government notably identifies targets to be achieved to protect the health and ensure the safety of people and our infrastructures. It is based on indicators to measure the evolution of adaptation needs. With its short-term horizon, specific targets and indicators, the federal strategy aims to get things moving quickly, in collaboration with the other levels of government.
Moreover, by relying in particular on bilateral action plans with the provinces, the federal government will perhaps force the hand of the Quebec government, which has not renewed its own adaptation strategy when it expires. here in… 2020.
We simply can no longer afford to ignore adaptation. It’s too risky and expensive.
With the help of the federal adaptation strategy, we will be able to judge the level of adaptation necessary to, for example, completely eliminate heat wave-related deaths by 2040 by listing, in particular, the number of housing and institutions with air conditioning.
From 2026, we will build more resilient buildings, thanks to a new building code. More strategic investments will be made when, in 2024, resilience to the effects of climate change is factored into all new federal infrastructure funding programs. Increased protection against heat islands and flooding can be provided through new urban parks developed by 2030.
On paper, it’s solid. All that remains now is to deliver the goods, which is not a foregone conclusion when it is still – in 2023 – struggling for the survival of a parking space, to the detriment of infrastructure of active transport.
An essential modernization
Finally, the implementation of the adaptation strategy should not be limited to the existing reference framework. By providing for the modernization of disaster financial assistance agreements, the federal government will, for example, have to ensure that urban flooding is now covered by financial assistance programs – which is not currently the case. .
Of course, to be consistent, we would ideally stop approving new fossil fuel projects. But in the meantime, as long as we simply focus on the decarbonization of current economic sectors, without fundamental transformation of consumption habits, we will need robust adaptation measures. The federal strategy is in line with this. Hoping that Quebec and the other provinces and territories will be there, to avoid losing control completely.