As Canada boosts climate adaptation efforts, experts urge action on rising threats
Global News
Forecasters said Friday Canadians from B.C. to western Quebec can expect higher than average fire risks in June and July this year again.
Dozens of experts advising the government on adapting to climate change say Canada needs to do more to prepare infrastructure for the threats of extreme weather and get faster at helping Canadians recover from floods, fires and major storms.
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault is set Monday to launch the second and last development phase for the national adaptation strategy that the Liberals promise will be ready by the end of the year.
The plan is supposed to show how Canada can become more resilient to the effects of climate change, and include a national monitoring and evaluation system to measure progress.
The first phase saw five expert panels on health, the economy, disaster resilience, natural and built infrastructure and nature submit advice to the minister on where they think the government should focus the plan.
Those plans were made public Thursday and many are looking for major transformations and improvements before the end of this decade.
The health panel said by 2030 health authorities need to have what they need to understand and address climate-related health risks, including infectious diseases and mental health.
New standards need to be embedded in the design and management of all infrastructure to make it both low-carbon and resilient to extreme weather.
And on the disaster resilience side, the experts say Canada has to do more to help when extreme weather hits.