Degrees of Change – Message from the President and CEO
Message from the President and CEO
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Degrees of Change: Climate Warming and the Stakes for Canada is about Canada in a climate-changing world. The earth is warming and Canada is already experiencing this change at an even faster rate than other nations. Climate change promises to be both pervasive and pernicious. What will it mean to Canada? How will it impact us? What can we expect?
These are the questions the NRTEE explores with our second report in our Climate Prosperity series on the risks and opportunities of climate change to Canada.
Its centre-piece is our unique Degrees of Change diagram. This diagram illustrates the likely impacts of climate change on our country from today's levels of warming to over 5 degrees Celsius. You can now see in one place how and where Canada and Canadians could be affected by warming temperatures and changing precipitation across a number of impact areas, ranging from ecosystems to human health to water resources and more. While climate change is global, its impacts are local and we need a Canadian map to show a Canadian story.
We need to understand what this will mean and how we can adapt and prosper through the stresses and uncertainties of climate change. Our new report helps frame this issue for Canadians by making visible what could lie ahead. It sets the stage for a national conversation on how best to adapt to a changing climate and a warming globe.
The NRTEE began this conversation with the Royal Canadian Geographical Society which published our Degrees of Change diagram as part of dedicating its October issues of Canadian Geographic and Géographica to the Round Table’s Climate Prosperity research. This report provides the full details, scientific background, and policy context for climate change impacts on Canada and what we can start to do about it.
David McLaughlin
NRTEE President and CEO
© 2013