A recent audit of the federal government’s Greening Government Strategy has highlighted significant gaps in protecting over $100 billion worth of critical infrastructure from the impacts of climate change. The audit, conducted by Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development Jerry V. DeMarco, pointed out that three key departments are lagging behind in their efforts.
With Canada experiencing warming at twice the global average, DeMarco emphasized the urgency of accelerating measures to safeguard federal assets and services. For instance, small craft harbors, supporting over 45,000 jobs, are at risk due to climate change and require immediate repairs and reinforcement.
The report revealed that the federal government possesses 1,623 vital assets, including bridges, buildings, vehicles, and harbors, out of which 275 are identified as significantly vulnerable to climate change. However, only three percent of these at-risk assets have climate resilience plans in place.
Launched in 2017, the Greening Government Strategy aims to achieve net-zero government emissions by 2050 and enhance climate resilience by 2035. The strategy involves assessing department-owned assets for vulnerabilities to climate change and implementing strategies to strengthen them against climate-related challenges like extreme weather events and natural disasters.
While the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat oversees the strategy’s implementation, the audit found substantial shortcomings in ensuring that government departments are effectively implementing climate resilience plans. The audit scrutinized the performance of three major departments – National Defence, Public Services and Procurement Canada, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada – which collectively own 67 percent of federal assets.
Although these departments conducted risk assessments on their vulnerable assets, no concrete actions were taken to enhance their resilience. Lack of dedicated funding for climate resilience initiatives hindered progress, as departments faced barriers in implementing necessary actions, such as infrastructure upgrades.
Furthermore, the audit identified a lack of interim targets and monitoring mechanisms for tracking progress towards climate resilience objectives. This deficiency raises concerns about the government’s ability to manage the escalating costs of climate-related damages to infrastructure, estimated to reach billions by 2030 and beyond.
In conclusion, proactive measures and timely investments in climate resilience are crucial to mitigating the increasing costs of climate-related events and safeguarding Canadian society from the adverse impacts of climate change.
