Climate risks in Canada a multibillion-dollar problem, but it doesn’t have to be: Panel
Daily Commercial News by ConstructConnect | April 16, 2024
Mohammad Fakoor, PhD, P.Eng., CEA, CPHD, CEM, LEED® AP BD+C | Associate
In 2023 catastrophic insured losses in Canada were $3.4 billion. Uninsured losses paint an even grimmer picture as they are usually three to four times higher a year.
But there is some good news.
“Guidance and tools are readily available to reduce the key physical climate risks in Canada: flooding, wildfire and extreme heat,” said Kathryn Bakos, managing director of finance and resilience with the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation, an applied research centre with a national focus within the Faculty of Environment at the University of Waterloo.
Bakos, a webinar panellist discussing building resiliency to climate change, said the Intact Centre has worked with experts across Canada “to develop practical, meaningful and cost-effective ways to adapt to the physical risks of climate change.”
She called insurance “a very good proxy for the growing risk.”
Annual catastrophic insurable losses for extreme weather in Canada between 1983 and 2008 ranged from $250 to $450 million, but losses now average $2.1 billion annually.
All numbers are corrected for inflation.
Flooding represents more than 60 per cent of all the annual losses and costs are increasing, she said at the webinar titled Accelerating To Zero: Resilient Transition Planning, which was hosted by the Canada Green Building Council.
RJC Engineers uses various tools for climate forecasts for all types of weather that include carbon projections to help predict the frequency and severity of the changing climate in different parts of Canada, panellist Mohammad Fakoor, associate and building performance group leader with RJC, told the audience.
He said tools available can help owners determine what adaptation measures match with the risk factors.
Fakoor said HealthyPlan.city, for example, uses digital tools to provide data on urban neighbourhoods across Canada.
“We can look at different parameters such as air pollution and the impact on a vulnerable population so we can tailor our adaptations to make sure they are equitable.”