Adapting to a changing climate
Nov. 23/20
Change for Climate is a climate change initiative from the City of Edmonton.
Nov. 23/20
Change for Climate is a climate change initiative from the City of Edmonton.
Climate Resilient Edmonton: Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan addresses the risks to the public and infrastructure from local climate changes that are expected to impact Edmonton.
The plan was first presented to City Council in November 2018 and will be presented for formal adoption at the Executive Committee of Council on November 30, 2020. Since November 2018, we’ve developed several resources and have integrated Adaptation into a number of projects you can see at edmonton.ca/climateresilience.
We developed new Tiny Explanation videos and an interactive website called Climate Resilient Home to help educate the community on climate change impacts. On the research side, we’ve been developing climate modeling, analyzing wildfire risk, studying tree and pest vulnerability, and helping mitigate risks of floods. We’ve also helped integrate climate adaptation into ConnectEdmonton, City Plan, and other different City processes and decisions.
What Climate Adaptation Means for Edmontonians
When we reduce our energy consumption, we often notice a difference in our bills or payments. Adapting to climate change doesn’t always have such immediate rewards: when we ensure our basements are flood-proof, or we nail down those loose shingles, or the City reinforces infrastructure to withstand higher and variable temperatures, we have to wait for a weather event to know if our efforts were useful. Even then, it may be difficult to know if the shingle may or may not have blown off. “Better safe than sorry” might be a good motto when it comes to adapting to climate change.
Some actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) also serve to prepare us for a changing climate. For example, improving your home’s insulation not only reduces energy use, but can also keep your home cooler and more comfortable in summer, should temperatures soar.
Together, our actions to reduce GHGs and those that prepare us for a changing climate make our homes and our city more resilient. There is no need to wait to take action. Visit our Programs page to participate in rebate programs designed for homes and buildings.
