The impacts of climate change are becoming increasingly evident. While some forward-thinking corporate and public entities are taking action both to mitigate risks and capitalize on emerging opportunities, others have been slower to respond. Amid this uncertain environment, however, a more clear view of public and corporate policy challenges and co-ordinated responses is emerging. Where does your organization stand?
A Climate for Action
By Gabriel F. Sékaly
CEO, Institute of Public Administration of Canada
Every day you can see commercials with David Suzuki urging us to change light bulbs and unplug that old beer fridge for the greater good. Citizens can reduce, reuse and also recycle with bigger and bigger blue boxes. People can drive less, turn down the heat, use less air conditioning and try to reduce their carbon footprints. Collectively, individual actions can make a big difference.
Companies are rethinking corporate strategies, supply chains and processes, and designs to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions partly in reaction to public expectations.
Governments across Canada, at all levels, have implemented ‘green plans’ and public awareness campaigns. Big, bold initiatives such as Cap and Trade systems, carbon sequestering and storage, and carbon taxes have also been implemented or advocated to reduce GHG emissions over time.
All these measures will reduce GHGs, but even if we eliminated all greenhouse gasemitting sources today, the buildup of existing gases would mean that the climate will continue to change. We must start planning now. In other words, we must adapt to the changing climate while at the same time implementing measures to reduce GHGs.
The public sector must use its programs and policies, its economies of scale and its ability to leverage resources to help Canadians adapt to these coming changes. Adaptation on this national scale will require systemic approaches, multidisciplinary tools and a broad vision – with local implementation.
Here, the Institute of Public Administration of Canada can play a vital role. IPAC is an association of public sector practitioners from all levels of government across Canada, as well as scholars of public administration and policy.
IPAC has worked on difficult public sector challenges, shared information, good ideas and lessons, and communities of practice over the last 60 years.
Why climate change adaptation? Why Canadian public policy?
Most climate change plans have concentrated on mitigation or lessening the impact. This is essential in order to reduce GHG emissions and reduce the damage to the many natural systems necessary for life on the planet.
Public sector leadership to marshal resources and knowledge across jurisdictions is needed to develop measures to adapt to the impact of climate change. The private and public sectors need to finetune the myriad of programs, services and systems to the changing climate, and determine priorities, responsibilities and who will pay.
Public administration and policy expertise is essential to reduce Canadians’ vulnerability and promote opportunities. The best approach would be to share information and develop solutions across Canada.
The CO2 damage inflicted on the planet has gone on for nearly two centuries and the cumulative effect is now apparent. Witness reports of melting sea ice, permafrost and glaciers, as well as floods in some regions and droughts in others.
There is an Aboriginal proverb that goes something like “We don’t inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.”
So as society develops mitigation measures, we must also look at adaptation. How should we build our infrastructure in the future to take into account warmer average temperatures, unpredictable weather patterns and in some areas rising water levels.
Are the crops we are presently growing in Canada going to thrive in this new environment? Do we have to change the crops we grow?
A 2008 Health Canada study has focused on climate change implications for health: young and old people are particularly susceptible to poor air quality and heat. New diseases are prevalent in warmer climates. What are the most immediate concerns? What can we do to protect the most vulnerable members of society?
What about the impacts of possible mass migration of people whose country can no longer sustain them as a result of drought conditions or flooding? Is the world ready to deal with these issues?
Many assumptions no longer hold for weatherdependent services, activities or infrastructure. Northern communities can no longer rely on ice roads in the winter.
Farmers can no longer assume the same growing seasons and amounts of rainfall. Coastal communities cannot assume that their buildings, marine infrastructure, sewage systems and tourist facilities will withstand predicted storms.
Assumptions about natural resources may no longer hold. Forests, lakes and rivers may change over time. Species too are changing: plant growth, animal behaviour and pests are adapting (or failing to adapt) to new climate conditions.
These have implications for communities, transportation choices, infrastructure, food production; the list goes on.
As policy decisions are being considered by elected officials and then handed over to public servants to co-ordinate, contract out or regulate, we need a very skilled public service to respond and implement the complex array of policy, program and service decisions. Canada’s success will be directly linked to the quality of public service at all levels.
Governments, businesses and society must undertake measures to adapt to the impacts of climate change while at the same time implementing measures to reduce GHGs. As the old saying goes, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
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Also appearing in this report:
Page 2
Responding to uncertainty
By Johanne Gelinas,
Partner, and Valerie Chort, Partner and National Practice Leader, Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability, Deloitte
Page 3
Green transition influencing procurement policies
By J. Fraser Mann
Miller Thomson LLP
and much more inside...
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TO READ THE FULL SPECIAL ADVERTISING ARTICLE AS IT APPEARED IN THE GLOBE AND MAIL, PLEASE CLICK THE ATTACHED PDF ABOVE, OR THE LINK BELOW>
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| Climate for Action Oct.27.pdf | 841.81 KB |