Prior preparation pays off

The Canadian Climate Institute asserts that green stimulus plans for economic recovery often overlook climate adaptation. The author argues that proactive investment in resilience—such as upgrading infrastructure to withstand extreme weather and protecting vulnerable populations from heat waves—provides a high rate of return by avoiding future damages. The document suggests that 'shovel-ready' projects should combine low-carbon objectives with resilience, such as using low-carbon materials for climate-hardened infrastructure and integrating nature-based solutions to reduce reliance on traditional 'grey' infrastructure.

• Canada faces significant, long-term climate risks across multiple sectors, including public health threats from heat waves and wildfire smoke, property loss from rising seas and floods, and the deterioration of critical infrastructure like roads and electricity systems due to permafrost thaw and extreme heat.
• While investments in low-carbon transitions (such as electric vehicles and renewable power) are critical, focusing solely on decarbonization fails to address the existing climate vulnerabilities Canada is already locked into, leaving significant opportunities to reduce risk unused.
• Proactive adaptation and preparation for climate risks offer a high economic rate of return by avoiding future damages and preventing the need for costly long-term maintenance or early replacement of infrastructure built to outdated standards.
• Resilience investments can be integrated with low-carbon goals through specific strategies: upgrading rental housing to protect vulnerable people from heat, enhancing electricity transmission resilience, combining 'grey' infrastructure with nature-based solutions like wetland restoration, and using low-carbon concrete for new roads and bridges.

APA

Canadian Climate Institute (2020). Prior preparation pays off. https://climateinstitute.ca/prior-preparation-pays-off/

Chicago

Canadian Climate Institute. Prior preparation pays off. 2020. https://climateinstitute.ca/prior-preparation-pays-off/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Canadian Climate Institute |title=Prior preparation pays off |date=23 June 2020 |url=https://climateinstitute.ca/prior-preparation-pays-off/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{canadianclimateinstitute2020prior, author = {{Canadian Climate Institute}}, title = {{Prior preparation pays off}}, publisher = {Canadian Climate Institute}, year = {2020}, month = jun, url = {https://climateinstitute.ca/prior-preparation-pays-off/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }