HRM Using Project to Help the Environment
Officials from a network of companies, government and non- governmental organizations from across the province are working together to develop new approaches for adapting to climate change. ClimAdapt was founded one year ago, with support from Nova Scotia Environment and Labour.
"ClimAdapt was started with a goal of developing new, exportable expertise, while at the same time helping Nova Scotia become better prepared for climate change," says Andrew Murphy, a manager at Environment and Labour. "We saw from Hurricane Juan, and then the blizzard, that our climate can have a dramatic affect on our lives and economy. We don't know if these events were related to climate change, however I think a lesson we can learn is that we need a better understanding of how our climate is changing and how we might adapt."
The reminder about our changing climate comes during Environment Week, which this year takes place from May 30 to June 5 and includes Clean Air Day on Wednesday, June 2.
Rising sea levels, higher temperatures and changes in rain and snow falls can occur as a result of the changing climate due to global warming. Communities that rely upon the sea, such as those in Atlantic Canada, are particularly vulnerable to changes in sea levels, storm surges and hurricanes.
As part of its work, ClimAdapt has recently created a project with the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) that will help the city develop management and planning tools to adapt to climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The project, called Climate-SMART (Sustainable Mitigation and Adaptation Risk Toolkit), is a prototype and can be replicated by other communities in Atlantic Canada and across the country.
Based on ClimAdapt tools, its development will help municipalities decide on an action plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
"We know there are ways to help reduce and prevent greenhouse gas emissions, such as changing our Metro Transit buses to bio fuels," says Stephen King, manager and senior advisor for strategic and sustainable resource management for HRM. "But there are also emissions from many years ago that we haven't seen the full impact of yet. It takes that long for some gases to reach our stratosphere."
Knowing that we can't prevent all of the harmful gases that will reach our environment, the Climate-SMART project is also looking at ways to adapt to the changing climate.
The project has four themes: safe community, excellence in governance, quality service and healthy sustainable vibrant community.
As part of the project, HRM is taking measurements of greenhouse gas emissions, air quality and climate change. After determining what the emissions are, officials will decide how to reduce them. Not only is this expected to allow HRM to reap the benefits of cleaner air, it will also save money by reducing the amount of energy used.
Halifax Regional Municipality is working towards reducing emissions by 20 per cent by 2007.