FCM provides proposals to protect communities from climate change

OTTAWA — The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) has released recommendations designed to inform the development of the federal government’s National Adaptation Strategy (NAS) to protect Canadians and communities from the impacts of climate change.

Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and severe, and Canada is not prepared to face them, states an FCM release, adding there is an urgent need to ramp up efforts to better understand and mitigate climate risks both short and long-term, especially for the communities that are most at risk.

FCM’s recommendations follow four overarching themes: scale up investment in resilient public infrastructure and nature-based solutions; invest in climate data, local and regional climate risk and vulnerability assessments; integrate climate risks into public sector decision-making; and build effective collaboration and climate governance practices.

“It’s time for bold action. With the right tools, municipalities are ready to do more. Protecting Canadians from climate change takes ongoing investment directly in our communities—where new weather extremes and climate conditions are unfolding,” said FCM President Taneen Rudyk in a statement. “Past investments in disaster mitigation and adaptation were welcome, but the needs on the ground are much greater and we need to be ready for what the future holds. We’re eager to strengthen the federal municipal partnership to better protect our communities.”