Appendix B. Adaptation Planning – Readiness and Next Steps

Appendix B. Adaptation Planning – Readiness and Next Steps

As part of the project, CEA assisted the Town with an adaptation capacity readiness assessment, using the MCAHUB.CA tool. This tool assesses readiness and helps to understand next steps in Policy, HR, and Technical realms. Next steps in each of the areas below should be implemented for the Town to manage risks and ensure resilience in the face of a change climate.

Policy

Completed:

• Council has declared a climate emergency
• Official Community Plan has recommendations on adaptation planning objectives
• Guidelines and criteria specific to sea-level rise and wildfire interface zones have been developed (but not for other items)

Next steps:

1. Communicate outcomes and benefits of adaptation planning to Council and stakeholders
2. Engage senior leadership in identifying strategic-level climate risk categories
3. Hazard Risk & Vulnerability Assessment – include lens of adaptation, and then get senior management and Council to endorse it
4. Adaptation Plan – develop one. Ensure it includes Key Performance Indicators to track progress
5. Guidelines and criteria for other adaptation items to be developed (e.g., extreme heat, air quality, and supplying generators to key locations / people during power cuts)
6. Incorporate climate adaptation into other plans, policies and actions as appropriate (e.g., asset management practices)
7. Monitor progress, conduct regular reports to Council and stakeholders, incorporate feedback

Human Resources

Completed:

• Town staff sit on the regional adaptation committee meetings, and information from these are brought back to the Town
• Town staff have an initial understanding of the risks posed by climate change to infrastructure, natural assets, and operations
• Town staff will be able to quickly identify all the relevant adaptation stakeholders

Next steps:

1. Develop an interdepartmental and cross-disciplinary corporate approach towards climate adaptation
2. Raise awareness among Town staff on potential adaptation initiatives, and the updated Hazard Risk & Vulnerability Assessment with adaptation lens (when completed)
3. Improve definitions of adaptation-related roles & responsibilities among staff (e.g., in job descriptions)
4. Consider training needs

Technical

Completed:

• Data has been compiled by the CRD, and looked at by Town staff

Next steps:

1. Explore how to access relevant data sources, or acquire necessary technical tools and systems for conducting climate risk assessments of assets and levels of service
2. Put in place structures to systematically identify gaps in the data, and then collect it. E.g., identifying and cataloguing what municipal infrastructure and private properties will be most affected by sea level rise
3. Identify priority assets for risk management, collect data on past performance during climatic extremes, and determine appropriate operational and customer levels of service for priority assets. Determine operations and maintenance needs
4. Consider climate change implications for capital projects
5. Assess costs to address immediate risks to assets / levels of service
6. Consider funding levels needed to collect data, assess risks, and implement priority adaptation initiatives on an ongoing basis