As climate change progresses and its negative consequences increase, alarm at all levels of government has led to numerous meetings, global conferences, agreements, promises, and hopes for the future.

After almost a hundred years of industrial activity and anthropogenic ecosystem disruption, our attempts at prevention have achieved minimal success. It is no longer just a case for prevention but also for mitigation of and adaptation to further environmental damage. Mitigation and adaptation are essential and will become increasingly important as climate change effects and ecosystem disruptions worsen. While it is challenging to identify specific short-term consequences of climate change making it easy to depreciate, it is imperative that long-term consequences are predicted and identified in order to prevent the worst outcomes.

In Canada, the long-term impacts of climate change, such as temperature rise, are predicted to be detrimental to not only the environment and human health but also the economy.¹ Climate impacts that can pose serious threats to economic interests include crop failure due to extreme weather, loss of land due to sea rise in coastal areas, and damage to infrastructure from extreme climate events such as hurricanes or forest fires.¹ Without proper mitigation and adaptation strategies, climate change will continue to impact communities, disrupt economic stability, and cause irreparable damage. This chapter will discuss various efforts that have been made to mitigate and adapt to climate change on international, national, and regional levels.

Summary Infographic

Authors

Evonne Tran¹, Arlin Cherian¹, Diane Kim¹, Sila Rogan^1,2, Kate Feldman², Alex Bland², Dr. Stefan Grzybowski^1,2

¹ Rural Health Services Research Network of BC, Department of Family Practice, University of British Columbia
² Centre for Rural Health Research, Department of Family Practice, University of British Columbia

RHSRNbc is funded by the Rural Coordination Centre of BC.