Under water: the costs of climate change for Canada’s infrastructure
This report gives a focused analysis on infrastructure costs and adaptation opportunities, built around the modelling of climate-induced impacts to flooding, transportation infrastructure, and electricity systems. This is the third report of the Costs of Climate Change series. The paper finds that Canada’s infrastructure decisions aren't accounting for climate change. These risks are leaving Canadians under water, physically and financially, threatening our future well-being and prosperity. In response, governments can direct public and private investment toward more resilient and future-fit infrastructure - a good investment that will cost much less in the long run.
The following recommendations, if acted on by federal, provincial, territorial, Indigenous, and municipal governments, will help ensure that Canada starts building today for the climate of tomorrow.
- Governments should develop and publish accurate and practical information about climate- related infrastructure risks.
- Governments and regulators should require owners of existing and proposed infrastructure to disclose climate change risks.
- Governments should explicitly evaluate resilience benefits and climate risks for all infrastructure spending and regulatory decisions.
- Governments should create safety nets for the most vulnerable to make climate risk pricing equitable.
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