The first assessment of climate change impacts and adaptation on a national scale in Canada was completed in 1998. Called the Canada Country Study, the assessment was conducted by experts from government, industry, universities and nongovernmental organizations, and provided a review of scientific and technical literature on climate change impacts and adaptation. The multi-volume report examined the impacts of climate change across Canada's regions and economic sectors, as well as potential adaptive responses. Among the many conclusions of the Canada Country Study was that climate change has the potential to impact our natural resource industries, all socio-economic sectors, and therefore "Canada's prosperity and well-being."⁽¹⁵⁾

This report, Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation: A Canadian Perspective, provides an update to the Canada Country Study by focusing on research conducted between 1997 and 2002. A considerable amount of work has been completed on climate change impacts and adaptation during this time, due in part to the attention brought to the issue by the Canada Country Study, as well as targeted research funding programs and international initiatives, such as the reports of the IPCC. Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation: A Canadian Perspective is not a comprehensive assessment of the literature, but rather a summary of recent studies with the goal of raising awareness of the range and significance of climate change impacts and adaptation issues. Throughout the report, the term "climate change" is used to refer to any change in climate over time, whether it be the product of natural variability, human activity or both. That is how the IPCC uses the term, but it differs from the usage of the UNFCCC, which restricts the term to climate changes that can be directly or indirectly related to human activity.

Although this review focuses primarily on Canadian research on climate change impacts and adaptation, additional reference material is included to provide both a North American and a global context for the Canadian work. The report also highlights the results of research funded by the Government of Canada's Climate Change Action Fund. Although much of this research has not yet been subject to full peer review, it provides examples of new and often innovative research in the field of climate change impacts and adaptation.

Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation: A Canadian Perspective begins with a chapter that introduces key concepts in impacts and adaptation research, and discusses current directions in understanding vulnerability, scenarios and costing. This is followed by seven chapters that each focus on sectors of key importance to Canada, namely water resources, agriculture, forestry, coastal zone, fisheries, transportation, and human health and well-being.

Vulnerability is a key theme throughout the report. This focus reflects the shift in impacts and adaptation research over recent years from projecting potential impacts to understanding the risk that climate change presents to the environment, economy and society (see 'Directions' chapter). Vulnerability, defined as "the degree to which a system is susceptible to, or unable to cope with, adverse effects of climate change, including climate variability and extremes,"⁽¹⁴⁾ provides a basis for managing the risks of climate change despite the uncertainties associated with future climate projections. In that sense, this report also serves as a primer for the next national-scale assessment of climate change impacts and adaptation, which will focus on understanding Canada's vulnerability to climate change.