Search Climate Insights Directory

The Canadian Climate Institute responds to claims that its 'Close to Home' report relies on 'guesswork,' asserting that its risk modelling uses data from The Co-operators and SwissRe and focuses on near-term risks. The Institute argues that failing to account for flood and wildfire exposure in housing development could increase private and public costs by $3 billion annually. It emphasizes that better land-use planning and risk information empower market participants to make informed decisions, addressing a market failure where insurance and property values misprice risk. The document notes that 2024 saw record insured losses of over $8.9 billion in Canada due to severe weather, including events in Quebec, Toronto, and Jasper, and maintains that climate change is increasing the area burned by wildfires.

The Canadian Climate Institute outlines three priorities for Canada's climate strategy: improving affordability through clean energy technologies, enhancing economic competitiveness via industrial carbon pricing to align with global partners, and increasing protection against escalating climate-driven financial losses from natural disasters.

The document highlights the escalating risk of wildfires in Canada, using the Jasper, Alberta fire as a case study to illustrate the dangers of fragmented governance and outdated policies. It proposes a three-pronged adaptation toolkit focusing on restricting new development in high-risk areas, retrofitting existing buildings with FireSmart materials, and implementing landscape-level risk reduction such as fuel thinning and Indigenous cultural burning.

The document highlights the urgent need for Canada to enhance wildfire preparedness, citing the Jasper fire as a critical warning. It identifies gaps in current zoning and governance and proposes a three-pronged adaptation toolkit involving land-use regulation, building retrofits, and landscape-level fuel management.

A letter from medical professionals to Vancouver City Council arguing against the use of natural gas in new builds due to indoor air pollution, climate impacts, and the health risks associated with fracking.

The document argues that decisive action on climate change, specifically regulating the oil and gas industry and its financial backers, is necessary to prevent the worsening of wildfires, heat domes, and floods in Canada. It highlights the disproportionate impact of these events on Indigenous peoples and criticizes the Canadian government for prioritizing fossil fuel infrastructure, such as the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, over emissions reductions.

The document argues that the LNG and fracking industries in British Columbia increase healthcare costs by exacerbating climate change, causing local health issues, and contributing to physician shortages in regions like Dawson Creek. It calls for a moratorium on new fracking, stricter pollution regulations, and a phase-out of natural gas in buildings by 2025.

The Canadian Climate Institute warns that without policy changes, Canada could build over 150,000 homes in very high flood hazard areas and 220,000 in high wildfire hazard municipalities by 2030. This could lead to combined annual damages of up to $3 billion. The report argues that redirecting just 3% of planned new homes (approximately 150,000 units) away from high-flood hazard areas could reduce flood risk to new housing by nearly 80%. Key recommendations include strengthening provincial land use policies, reforming disaster assistance to deter risky development, updating hazard maps, and mandating risk disclosure in real estate transactions.