PLEIN NORD : faire face aux coûts des changements climatiques pour les infrastructures du Nord

The Canadian North faces a dual crisis of inadequate existing infrastructure and a climate warming three times faster than the global average. Permafrost thaw, extreme weather, and unpredictable ice and snow conditions are damaging airstrips, roads, and building foundations, while threatening winter road viability and coastal communities. The report argues that simple repairs are insufficient due to historical underinvestment and neglect; instead, it calls for transformational adaptation based on Indigenous self-determination. Key recommendations include restructuring federal funding, improving region-specific climate risk data, prioritizing infrastructure replacement over repair, and updating building codes to account for northern climate complexities.

• The Canadian North is experiencing warming at a rate three times faster than the global average, which exacerbates existing infrastructure deficiencies through permafrost thaw, extreme weather, and unpredictable snow and ice conditions.
• Climate change is causing rapid damage to critical northern infrastructure, specifically affecting building foundations, roads, and airstrips, while reducing the safety and resilience of winter roads and threatening coastal communities via sea-level rise and flooding.
• Incremental adaptation is insufficient to address the crisis because current vulnerabilities are rooted in decades of poor planning, neglect, and underinvestment; therefore, a 'transformational adaptation' approach involving local consultation and a rethink of service delivery is required.
• The report recommends four primary interventions: increasing and restructuring federal funding, developing accurate regional climate risk information, prioritizing the replacement and transformation of infrastructure over simple repair, and updating regulations and building codes to reflect northern climate realities.

APA

Canadian Climate Institute (n.d.). PLEIN NORD : faire face aux coûts des changements climatiques pour les infrastructures du Nord. https://institutclimatique.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Sommaire-executif-Plein-Nord.pdf

Chicago

Canadian Climate Institute. PLEIN NORD : faire face aux coûts des changements climatiques pour les infrastructures du Nord. n.d. https://institutclimatique.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Sommaire-executif-Plein-Nord.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Canadian Climate Institute |title=PLEIN NORD : faire face aux coûts des changements climatiques pour les infrastructures du Nord |url=https://institutclimatique.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Sommaire-executif-Plein-Nord.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{canadianclimateinstitutendplein, author = {{Canadian Climate Institute}}, title = {{PLEIN NORD : faire face aux coûts des changements climatiques pour les infrastructures du Nord}}, institution = {Canadian Climate Institute}, url = {https://institutclimatique.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Sommaire-executif-Plein-Nord.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }