Our water and climate program area is working to make our communities stronger and better able to deal with the impacts of climate change.

Impacts of climate change on water availability

To help do this, we’re undertaking a two-year project with ClimateWest and Prairie the Adaptation Research Collaborative (PARC) to understand the impact of climate change on water availability and crop suitability across the Canadian Prairies. The project is funded by RBC Tech-for-Nature.

In May, we hosted a workshop with our project partners for the Community of Interest. The community is made up of senior policy decision-makers from both federal and provincial governments in the Prairies. It also includes representatives from not-for-profit organizations that work in the agriculture, water management, and climate change space. Insights from the Community of Interest workshop will be used to inform the project’s outcome as they are also potential end-users of the findings.

More information about the project is available here.

Connecting with industry members at the ClimateWest Forum

Sandra Cooke, director of communities and climate, attended the second ClimateWest Forum in Edmonton in May. During the event, Dr. Heather Morrison from Environment and Climate Change Canada highlighted the significant climate challenges facing Canada’s Prairies. Dr. Morrison revealed that Canada’s warming rate is double the global average, with the Canadian Arctic experiencing triple that rate. This trend is altering precipitation patterns and increasing the frequency of severe droughts in the Prairies, with up to 12 out of every 20 years potentially experiencing such conditions under high greenhouse gas (GHG) emission scenarios.

The forum stressed the importance of climate-informed decision-making. Utilizing regional climate service hubs like ClimateWest, CLIMAtlantic, Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium, and Ouranos will facilitate this approach. While reducing GHGs remains critical for lessening climate impacts and stabilizing the climate, adapting to the unavoidable consequences of climate change is equally essential. This adaptation will involve making decisions based on comprehensive data analysis.