An expert panel has identified a dozen ways that climate change in Canada could lead to “significant losses, damages, or disruptions” over the next 20 years.The Council of Canadian Academies deems urban flood damage, coastal erosion, northern communities, natural habitats and fisheries as the areas most at-risk. It also suggests what climate-change adaptions the federal government should prioritize before the worst-case scenarios become reality.The 70-page report is intended to help federal officials work with lower-level governments and citizens to mitigate the impact of weather extremes. Canadians have already seen an increase in urban flooding in Toronto, the melting of permafrost and sea ice in the north, rising oceans on the coasts and raging wildfires in the west.The report, called Canada’s Top Climate Change Risks, also suggests ways the Canadian government can protect its vulnerable property, such as the ports in Vancouver or Halifax that could be impacted by rising sea levels and storm surges. Released Thursday, the report was commissioned by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, which makes recommendations on government spending. Read more:Toronto keeps flooding when it rains. Here’s whyP.E.I. is losing ground to climate changeAlberta won’t stop burning. Here’s whyIt gives the government an “outside view on climate-change risks so they could have a better internal understanding as to where the priorities might lie,” said panel chair John Leggat.“It is an important report for them to try to understand how to get their ducks lined up.”The Council of Canadian Academies is a not-for-profit organization that does evidence-based assessments on public policy issues in Canada, such as medical assisted suicide, natural resource management and policing in Indigenous communities. The council does not make specific recommendations for government action. In the case of climate change, it was asked to i ...
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