The National Adaptation Strategy and the Planning Profession

The information for this article was provided by the Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Division of Natural Resources Canada. The article was reference in the fall/winter 2023 issue of OPPI’s Y Magazine (www.ontarioplanners.ca/y-magazine).
 
Canada is experiencing climate change in many different ways. As climate impacts continue to intensify, more ambitious, strategic, and collaborative approaches are needed to prepare for and build resilience to the impacts of climate change. The National Adaptation Strategy (NAS) is critical in bringing together key actors across the country to advance adaptation actions in line with the Strategy’s guiding principles centred on equity, respecting jurisdictions, upholding Indigenous rights, maximizing benefits, and avoiding maladaptation.
 
Canada’s NAS calls on all segments of society to accelerate action and work better together to match the magnitude of the climate threat.

How Planners fit in
Planners are well placed to work across the different priority areas (systems) of the NAS which are very important to its success — e.g., priorities related to reducing the impacts of climate-related disasters, improving health and well-being, protecting and restoring nature and biodiversity, building and maintaining resilient infrastructure, and supporting the economy and workers. Integrating across priorities helps to reduce risks of maladaptation.
 
By the nature of their work, planners are well positioned to lead climate change adaptation and influence climate adaptation action — a position reinforced by the CIP on its website: “[Planners] are in a unique position to bring together officials, citizens, and allied professions in an integrated and collaborative approach.”
 
Fulfilling this leadership role means engaging in professional development and continued learning related to adaptation skills; mainstreaming and integrating climate change considerations and adaptation skills into professional planning practices, particularly those that typically do not considered climate impacts; communicating the importance of climate change adaptation considerations; and building the business case for adaptation measures to clients, employers, and other decision makers.

Engagement is Key
The NAS is built on extensive engagement with provincial, territorial, and municipal governments, First Nations, Inuit, and Métis, academic experts and organizations, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, and the general public. Advisory tables supporting each of the NAS systems drew on the expertise of over 100 members across the country. Over 20 workshops and a national symposium with nearly 1,400 participants were held. An online engagement platform was launched to support public consultations, with more than 27,000 site visits and 16,000 contributions (i.e., ideas, comments). Engagement resulted in over 800 written submissions from key organizations, stakeholder groups, and the public.
 
Important messages were heard during these engagement activities, including the need for flexible place-based approaches, the importance of clear governance, respect for jurisdictions and collaboration, and the need to align with other national priorities, such as climate change mitigation and housing and infrastructure strategies. First Nations, Inuit, and Métis also emphasized the need for urgent action to support communities at the front lines of climate change and the importance of Indigenous self-determination enabled by partnerships and capacity building.
 
The federal government met regularly with the provinces, territories, and First Nations, Inuit, and Métis to ensure that the various elements of the NAS reflected regional and jurisdictional priorities, and to identify key areas for alignment of activities and mainstreaming of adaptation in decision making.
 
Following the release of the NAS, federal, provincial, territorial governments, and First Nations, Inuit, and Métis representatives will continue to engage and develop partnerships to support regional implementation of the NAS based on local priorities and climate risks.

Canada on the Global Stage
Establishing the NAS brings Canada in line with the majority of advanced economies who have national adaptation plans or strategies in place, including 24 of the European Union’s member states and all G7 countries other than the United States.
 
Canada’s first NAS is one of a handful of strategies that include specific targets across its five interconnected systems of disaster resilience, health and well-being, nature and biodiversity, infrastructure, and economy and workers.
 
To further demonstrate Canada’s leadership on climate change adaptation, Canada will be hosting the seventh edition of the biennial Adaptation Futures conference, the largest dedicated adaptation event globally, on October 2-6, 2023, in Montréal.

Resources: Tackling Climate Change Together
National Adaptation Strategy:
https://www.canada.ca/en/services/environment/weather/climatechange/climate-plan/national-adaptation-strategy/full-strategy.html
 
Government of Canada Adaptation Action Plan:
https://www.canada.ca/en/services/environment/weather/climatechange/climate-plan/national-adaptation-strategy/action-plan.html
 
Building Regional Adaptation Capacity and Expertise (BRACE) Program:
https://natural-resources.canada.ca/climate-change/building-regional-adaptation-capacity-and-expertise-program/21324
 
Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Training Program for Professional Planners — Climate Risk Institute: https://climateriskinstitute.ca/climate-change-impacts-and-adaptation-training-program-for-professional-planners/
This training for Ontario planners is offered by the Climate Risk Institute and was developed with support from the NRCan BRACE program. In partnership with the Ontario Professional Planners and Dillon Consulting, the Climate Risk Institute developed a climate change adaptation training program for planners. Built around a series of modules and case studies, the training program is intended to support Ontario planners in (i) building their understanding of the most recent science on climate change, (ii) providing methods to integrate climate change impacts and adaptation into planning contexts and processes, and (iii) accelerating the uptake of adaptation broadly within the profession.
 
Adaptation Resources Pathway for Planners (ARPP): https://climateriskinstitute.ca/arpp/
ARPP was developed by Climate Risk Institute with support from the Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP) and funding form the NRCan BRACE program. The ARPP is designed as interactive tools to help planners navigate the vast array of knowledge and resources available on climate change adaptation.
 
Climate Adaptation Competency Framework: https://can-adapt.ca/canadapt-capability
 
Climate Data for a Resilient Canada: https://climatedata.ca
This website provides high-resolution climate data to help urban planners, municipal officials and other decision makers build more resilient Canadian communities. This interactive portal allows users to explore, visualize and download past and future climate data, and provides access to a range of resources including customizable data analysis tools and sector modules with tailored data and case studies.
 
Manitoba Climate Resilience Training – Planning Modules: https://climatewest.ca/mcrt-planning-modules/
The planning modules focus on the impacts of climate change that are being seen across Manitoba and highlight the role of planners in addressing these impacts.