Degrees of Change: Climate Warming and the Stakes for Canada – Advise

Executive Summary

This Degrees of Change report illustrates the expected impacts of a changing climate for Canada and how adapting to these impacts now will be necessary to secure our prosperity in an uncertain climate future. In Canada and across the globe, we are already seeing the effects of warming temperatures and changing climate conditions. As climate change persists, we can expect, for example, further melting of glaciers and sea ice, rising sea levels, earlier springs, shifts in the distribution of animals and plants, and increasingly volatile weather. No region and no aspect of our geography will be immune; but impacts will vary in time and intensity. [Read more]

Exploring “Degrees of Change”

The Degrees of Change diagram summarizes a body of scientific literature on the  expected effects of climate change in Canada associated with a rise in global  average temperatures over the 21st century.

It is an illustrative  and representative depiction of what a changing climate could mean for Canada,  citing 60 specific examples of impacts. It is based on existing published  research, with examples of impacts selected to highlight direct and indirect  effects of global warming. The diagram is a summary of some of the more  important impacts, those we know most about, are most confident about, and  those expected to occur this century. In doing so, the NRTEE seeks to inform  Canadians on just how pervasive the effects of a changing climate will be. And  it seeks to inform decision makers on the scope and need for adaptation measures. [Download the diagram – PDF version]

NATIONAL ROUND TABLE / ROYAL CANADIAN GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY

On October 5, 2010, the National Round Table (NRTEE) and the Royal Canadian Geographical Society released the Degrees of Change diagram, an NRTEE compiled document which lays out potential effects of a changing climate on Canada at different degrees of warming. The impacts – 60 in all, culled from documented scientific literature – are categorized into eight separate sectors and include; ecosystems, water resources, human health, communities and infrastructure, resource industries, service industries, security and trade and ice, snow and sea. The diagram is included in the October issue of Canadian Geographic and Géographica magazines, which are almost wholly-devoted to climate change. This release included a special roundtable discussion at the Museum of Nature, and a launch reception with the Governor General providing the keynote address. [Read more]