(Disponible en français : Résumé – Les changements climatiques : Leurs répercussions et leur incidence sur les politiques)
Unprecedented global warming has been observed in recent decades. Around the world, mean air and water temperatures have increased, amounts of snow and ice have diminished, and sea levels have risen. Canada is no exception: our mean temperature has increased by more than twice the global average temperature.
A warming climate will likely have short- and long-term effects on people’s lives. Many aspects of our society are governed to some extent by climate. Here in Canada, climate change is likely to have an impact on human health, human rights, migration, food security, the economy, employment, national security and transportation.
Political, social and economic institutions will have no choice but to adapt to the societal disruption brought about by climate change, but they can also find ways to take advantage of new opportunities. That means taking climate change into account in public policy planning.
Read the full text of the Background Paper: Climate Change: Impact and Policy Implications
Authors: Madalina Chesoi, Xavier Deschênes-Philion, Geneviève Gosselin, Khamla Heminthavong, Alexandre Lavoie, Sarah Lemelin-Bellerose, Robert Mason, Sonya Norris, Katherine Simonds and Brett Stuckey, Library of Parliament
Categories: Agriculture, environment, fisheries and natural resources, Executive summary