April 20 webinar: Municipal adaptation to extreme weather

Alberta Municipalities hosts an online discussion with researcher Dr. Mary-Ellen Tyler from the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy on Thursday, April 20 at 3 p.m. Register here.

We will discuss Dr. Tyler’s new research paper, Climate Risk Assessment and Adaptation Consideration for Municipal Governance, and how municipal governments can adapt to the impacts of increasing extreme weather events in Alberta.

Extreme weather causes serious issues regarding infrastructure performance, water scarcity and challenge local governments to protect their communities. Dr. Tyler identified several strategies to help us adapt to this new reality:

1. Emergency management. Greater integration between emergency management planning, long-term climate risk assessment and adaptation, municipal land use, infrastructure and asset management can potentially reinforce each of these critical areas.
2. Intermunicipal Collaborative Frameworks. ICFs were created to enable cost sharing between neighbours for intermunicipal services, but also offer the potential to collaborate on climate risk assessments, adaptation and emergency management.
3. Natural Asset Management. This is a growing field that recognizes the value of the landscape to absorb the impacts of extreme weather. Land use planning can take advantage of natural features, like wetlands, to promote neighbourhoods adapted to climate risk.
4. Municipal Climate Change Action Centre. MCCAC helps provide funding and expertise for adaptation projects.
5. Insurance. This is an important tool for managing risk and recovery from extreme events. ABmunis and RMA offer insurance and risk services, but additional risk-sharing partnerships for new national and regional infrastructure standards would also help.
6. Broadband capacity. Digital infrastructure is critical to enabling municipalities to access specialized digital information and decision support for climate risk assessment, planning and management.

A key finding throughout the paper is the importance of collaboration. Our ability to meet the challenges of an uncertain climate depends on municipalities working together.

Don’t miss out.– register today!