Nearly every Canadian and every sector of the Canadian economy has responsibilities or activities that are sensitive to changes in climate. Forestry workers, urban planners, investment advisors, home owners, policy makers, and international aid volunteers - to name just a few - all have reason to look ahead and be concerned about how we adapt to climate change.

Historically, Canadians have adapted our activities to suit our climate and its year-to-year variations. But we have tended to expect that the climate we experienced in the past will continue into the future. Now we can no longer consider that to be true.

Why does Canada need impacts and adaptation research?

There are many critical research needs in the fields of climate science, technology development, and impacts and adaptation. Expanding our knowledge in all of these areas is an essential part of Canada's response to the climate change challenge.

There is an international consensus that the basis for concern about climate change is scientifically sound. It is widely agreed that there is a discernable human influence on the Earth's climate processes, and that the risks of danger are real and significant. The weight of scientific evidence supports taking action on climate change now.

The first obvious action is to address the human activities that are linked to climate change - primarily the use of fossil fuels resulting in emissions of greenhouse gases. Emission reduction activities are an important component of Canada's response; however, reducing emissions will only slow climate change, not prevent it, and both Canadian and global emissions are still on the rise.

There is a need to prepare for the changes that are anticipated to occur over the next several decades. Part of this preparation involves improving our understanding of the potential impacts of climate change at the regional level. While the exact rate and magnitude of regional climate changes are not yet known, taking precautionary actions now to reduce the risks is justified. We must carefully assess the possible consequences of climate change, identify the areas where we are most vulnerable, and take steps to adapt to the anticipated changes.

Adaptation is also a critical component of the international community's response to climate change. Adaptive capability differs among regions and is often least developed in those areas of the world likely to be most affected by climate change, such as the developing small island states. Sharing knowledge and technologies with developing nations will help to improve their ability to adapt. As the adaptive capacity of a country, a community or company increases, its vulnerability to climate change decreases.

What does "adaptation" include?

Adaptation to climate is not new. Human societies have successfully adapted to their climate for thousands of years. Highway snow removal, management of water levels along the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway, and the construction of floodways, breakwaters, and irrigation systems are all examples of modern adaptations to Canada's naturally variable climate.

Adaptation to climate change poses particular challenges beyond those related to coping with normal climate variability. Climate change is anticipated to result in increasing average temperatures, rising sea-level, changes in precipitation patterns, and, for some areas, an increase in the frequency and severity of extreme weather events; and the projected impacts of change are likely to occur over a relatively short time span. The pace of the projected changes and the timeframes for implementing responses combine to make it critical to be as well prepared as possible.

Adaptation involves making adjustments in our social and economic activities to enhance their viability and reduce their vulnerability to climate change. This includes measures to reduce or avoid negative impacts, and also the steps we take to maximize new opportunities. Investing in scientific research, and developing management and investment plans that incorporate responses to climate change are also part of adaptation.

Adaptations can take a variety of forms. Short-term tactics may be applied as a reaction to a situation, for example, restricting lawn-watering during a drought; promoting water conservation in areas where shortages are anticipated is a more strategic response. Preparing to cope with future extreme weather events by revising building codes or upgrading municipal infrastructure is a longer-term, proactive adaptation. It may be appropriate for a company, an industry or a government to include many forms of adaptation in its plans for responding to climate change.

How can we adapt to climate change?

Finding the best possible answers to this question is the main reason for funding projects under this sub-component of the CCAF. The following answer sets out the current understanding of the range of adaptive responses and the general categories of measures. Improving our knowledge base will enable decision-makers to plan for adaptive steps that are most suitable for a particular area or economic activity.

Adaptive measures range from actions by individuals or companies, to policies related to planning and infrastructure development. They may be implemented on a local, national, or global scale, and may involve technological, institutional, or behavioural changes.

There are five basic categories of adaptation measures that can be employed in response to an identified risk:

• Prevent the loss - Adopt measures to reduce vulnerability to climate change.
• Tolerate the loss - Do nothing to reduce vulnerability and absorb losses.
• Spread or share the loss - Do not reduce vulnerability, but rather spread the burden of losses across different systems or populations.
• Change the activity - Stop activities that are not sustainable under the changed climate, and substitute with other activities.
• Change the location - Move the activity or system.

As the costs of adaptation may, in some cases, be quite high identifying the risks and early planning involving both communities and industry will be essential for designing effective strategies, and reducing long-term costs associated with their development.

It is important for Canadians to have the information they need to participate in discussions and decisions on adapting to climate change. Maximizing participation will help build support for the development of adaptive options that will minimize economic, social and environmental costs.