Climate Change Adaptation Tools and Barriers in Newfoundland and Labrador Liveable Cities Forum 2016 Halifax, NS 12-September-2016
The Project NL Office of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency (CCEE) lead responsibility within Government for strategy and policy development on climate change, energy efficiency and emissions trading Climate Change Adaptation and Extreme Weather Preparedness Suite of Tools and Resources available Who is using them? Why / why not? Amec Foster Wheeler Jonas Roberts Climate Change Consultant Nancy Griffiths Environmental Planner Peter Nimmrichter Associate and Climate Change Specialist John McClintock Senior Oceanographer Panel of Academic Subject Matter Experts 2
The Project Stakeholder Engagement 69 People Municipal Representatives Government of Nunatsiavut Consulting Firms Provincial Government Officials Semi-Structured Interviews Current Practices, Barriers Recommendations How to Increase use of CCEE Adaptation Tools and Resources Training Program 3
Adaptation Tools and Resources Climate Data information Portal http://nl.communityaccounts.ca/climate/ Intensity Duration Frequency (IDF) Curves http://www.exec.gov.nl.ca/exec/ccee/publications/idf_curve_2015.pdf Projected Impacts of Climate Change for the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador http://www.exec.gov.nl.ca/exec/ccee/publications/nl%20climate%20change%20projections%20- %20Full%20Technical%20Report.pdf Flood Risk Mapping http://www.env.gov.nl.ca/env/waterres/flooding/frm.html Hurricane Season Flood Alert System http://www.env.gov.nl.ca/env/waterres/flooding/hurricane.html Sea-Level Rise Predictions for the province http://www.nr.gov.nl.ca/mines&en/geosurvey/publications/cr2010/2010_batterson-liverman.pdf Coastal Erosion Monitoring Studies http://www.nr.gov.nl.ca/nr/mines/geoscience/publications/currentresearch/2014/irvine-2014.pdf Community Climate Change Vulnerability Risk Assessments http://www.municipalnl.ca/userfiles/files/dec-00306-infrastructure%20workbook%20(web-email%20quality).pdf Case Studies http://www.exec.gov.nl.ca/exec/ccee/climate-data/ 4
Climate Data Information Portal Historical climate data and charts Annual, quarterly, monthly, daily Air temperature, precipitation, maximum wind gust Station comparisons 5
Intensity-Duration-Frequency Curves IDF curves report estimated precipitation intensity Support design of bridges, culverts, dams, municipal planning and land allocation Characterize relationship between intensity of precipitation, over a specified duration of time and the frequency of occurrence / return period Includes IDF curves for historical climate and future climate conditions 6
Projected Impacts of Climate Change for the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador Regional climate change projections study 8 temperature variables 11 precipitation variables Change from base period (1970-2000) to future period (2040-2070) 7
Flood Risk Mapping 38 Newfoundland and Labrador communities Tool for management and planning of flood plains and to minimize impact of floods Developed using historical data and climate change projections Based on 20 year and 100 year flooding events 8
Flood Alerts Daily alert provided to municipalities Supports emergency response planning efforts July to December Projected daily rainfall, 20 and 100-year flood risk levels Time of estimated peak precipitation 9
Sea Level Rise Projections Study/Report Projections of sea level rise by 2049 and 2099 relative to 1990 levels Four zones in Newfoundland and Labrador Thermal expansion, ice melt and crustal rebound 10
Coastal Erosion Monitoring A multi-year coastal monitoring program 104 locations Delineate coastal areas at risk from hazards Assess rates of shoreline erosion Determine changes in beach profiles Assess which physical processes are causing coastal change 11
7 Steps to Assess Climate Change Vulnerability in Your Community Step-by-step guide to help communities assess their vulnerability to climate change Help determine steps to be more prepared for climate change Designed for communities with limited resources Does not require any technical expertise More compact Managing Municipal Infrastructure in a Changing Climate Workbook available 12
Vulnerability Assessment Case Studies Example: storm surge flood risk of school in Placentia PIEVC Protocol 13
Municipal Stakeholder Engagement Municipal Planners, Engineers, Town Clerks Bay Roberts Gander Placentia St. John s Conception Bay South Stephenville Corner Brook Happy Valley-Goose Bay Mount Pearl 14
Municipal Stakeholder Engagement Semi-Structured Interviews Three Phases of Questions Phase1: Warm Up Questions Services provided, (weather) challenges and how they deal with them, etc? Phase 2: Climate Change Attitudes Believe in climate change, does your boss, is it a priority, etc? Phase 3: Current Practice, Barriers and Suggestions Use CCEE tools and resources, are they effective, how to increase their use, what adaptation challenges and barriers are there, etc? 15
Practices and Barriers Engagement Results Municipalities own and manage infrastructure for water supply, sewerage (& treatment), storm water management and roads Flooding (storm water overflow) is prominent concern Larger municipalities more involved in strategic planning and adaptation (community sustainability and asset management) planning Smaller municipalities focused on day-to-day (reactive) www.montrealgazette.com Hurricane Igor 2010 16
Practices and Barriers Engagement Results Aware of flood risk mapping and flood alerts Rely on weather forecasts Most don t use climate change adaptation tools and resources Don t explicitly ask consultants to use them Assume consultants consider climate change in their work Want better direction (regulations, guidance documents) from Provincial Government 17
Practices and Barriers Barriers Officials were too busy dealing with daily operations Didn t have the resources to address climate change Those that were implementing adaptive strategies felt they were at a disadvantage to nearby communities Inter-jurisdictional watersheds www.cbc.ca Waterford River 18
Practices and Barriers Barriers Most were unaware of existing tools and resources Or which tools would be useful to whom (planner? engineer?) Assumed others (consultants) were incorporating climate change projections into their infrastructure designs Consultants were only doing what was explicitly requested Climate change adaptation is neither mandatory nor standard practice Nothing in provincial development standards, guidance documents, regulations 19
Recommendations How to increase use of CCEE Tools and Resources Highest Priority Develop regulatory framework and common understanding Increase awareness Additional Recommendations Develop training Improve tool and resource format and accessibility Promote regional planning and inter-municipal cooperation Cost benefit analysis & funding mechanism 20
Thank you! Jonas Roberts, PhD, EIT jonas.roberts@amecfw.com 21