This executive summary lays out highlights from the report "Accelerating Climate Adaptation in Atlantic Canada", written by Max Bell School Master of Public Policy students Anita Dernovici, Aislinn Hagan, Guadalupe Jolicoeur, and Colleen Keilty as part of the 2024 Policy Lab.
Access the summary and presentation below, and read their full report here.
In recent years, the escalating impacts of climate change have become starkly evident. Increasing natural disasters, such as floods, storms, and wildfires, pose substantial threats to the economic, environmental, and social well-being of Canada.
As climate change makes weather patterns more extreme and volatile, disasters are becoming more frequent and more expensive. The past fifty years have seen a dramatic shift in the cost of weather-related disasters which have risen from an average of $8.3 million per event in the 1970s to an average of $112 million between 2010–2019, including public and private costs. This change represents a staggering 1250 percent increase.
Decades of insurance payouts are a prominent indicator of the cost of weather-related disasters and show a noteworthy rise in both the number of catastrophic events and their costs. Of the natural disasters that impact Canada, flooding remains the most common and costly.
Collaboration between insurers, all levels of government, businesses, civil society, and residents is crucial in order to protect Canadian homes, safeguard communities, and mitigate the risks of climate change. Recognizing the critical need for solutions, Intact Financial Corporation (IFC), a leader in the Canadian insurance sector, has prioritized the development of strategies to mitigate these risks and enhance the overall resilience of communities. As such, IFC has posed the following policy question to guide its strategic climate adaptation approach:
How can Intact and other insurance companies work more efficiently with municipal, provincial, and federal governments to accelerate climate adaptation strategies to reduce flood risks?
Atlantic Canada was selected as the geographic scope of this policy brief for its increasing vulnerability to flood risks and IFC’s strong market presence in the region. The area's demographic, geographic, and climatic characteristics make it especially susceptible to flooding events. Rising sea levels, increasingly extreme precipitation, and severe storms all have a significant impact on Atlantic Canadian communities, leading to loss and damage to homes, property, and infrastructure. Consequently, there is a pressing need for targeted adaptation strategies to address and manage these collective and individual risks effectively.
To address the complex nature of flood risks in Atlantic Canada, this policy brief proposes a set of three complementary programmatic policy recommendations. Drawing on research and interviews with stakeholders from academia, government, industry associations, and non-governmental organizations, each recommendation is designed to not only mitigate the immediate and direct impacts of flooding but also to build long-term adaptive capacity and resilience, ensuring sustainable and inclusive climate adaptation efforts across various levels of government and communities. The proposed programmatic policy recommendations are rooted in principles that are people-centered, equity-focused, whole-of-society, and based on adaptive management.
The recommendations highlighted in this brief are as follows:
Incentivizing municipal and Indigenous community action through a Flood Leadership, Organization and Operational Defense (FLOOD) program
This recommendation proposes financial incentives, realized through annual insurance deductions, for communities that engage in proactive adaptation efforts to decrease flood risks. The pilot program will target municipalities and Indigenous governed areas with established climate adaptation plans, adopting an equity-focused approach to ensure that support primarily reaches the most vulnerable communities.
Incentivizing property owners in flood adaptation through the Resilient Rates program
This recommendation seeks to increase flood insurance uptake and flood-related adaptive measures among property owners by providing credit-based insurance premiums for different levels of risk reducing actions, such as installing backwater valves or sump pumps, for improved stormwater management.
Enhancing risk awareness and adaptation efforts through FloodAware
This recommendation aims to promote information dissemination and awareness. Structured into two focused streams, the program seeks to engage community and business leaders and directly reach customers with crucial flood preparedness information.
Through collaborative efforts between insurance companies, governmental entities, businesses and other stakeholders, the proposed initiatives are anticipated to deliver considerable benefits, that effectively outweigh the costs associated with their implementation, and serve as a model for other regions of Canada grappling with similar climate-related challenges. Collectively, these strategies delineate a comprehensive framework for managing flood risks, ensuring immediate protection of and strengthening adaptive capacity for communities in Atlantic Canada.
Download the full version of this report here.
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