Northern Climate ExChange

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NCE Updates

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NOW AVAILABLE HERE: New Health Canada report warns of climate change impacts on human health

On July 31 Health Canada released "Human Health in a Changing Climate: A Canadian Assessment of Vulnerabilities and Adaptive Capacity." The report is now available here on the NCE website, or you can request a PDF copy by contacting the government at ccadaptation@hc-sc.gc.ca.

Canada's Offset System for Greenhouse Gases: Guide for Protocol Developers

The Offset System is one component of Turning the Corner, the Government of Canada's plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It is designed to encourage projects that reduce GHGs through voluntary actions. Information about the Offset System is provided in a series of Guides.

First National Engineering Assessment Report – Adapting to Climate Change

To meet the climate change challenge, Engineers Canada and its partners have established the Public Infrastructure Engineering Vulnerability Committee. Co-funded by Natural Resources Canada and Engineers Canada, the Vulnerability Committee is a major Canadian initiative involving all three levels of government and non-governmental organizations. It is looking broadly and systematically at infrastructure vulnerability to climate change from an engineering perspective. The Committee's work has resulted in the First National Engineering Vulnerability Assessment.

New David Suzuki Foundation report assesses provincial & territorial climate change plans

A new report from the David Suzuki Foundation looks at provincial and territorial action on climate change, compares their greenhouse gas emissions, assesses their climate change plans and evaluates their records.

Dawson Adaptation Project: June/July update

Our Dawson Adaptation Project has released its first e-mail update. Updates will be sent out to keep the community informed about what has happened so far and to give notice of upcoming events.

New report predicts weather extremes for North America

A new climate assessment by the US Climate Change Science Program predicts that droughts, heavy downpours, excessive heat, and intense hurricanes are likely to become more commonplace in North America as humans continue to increase the atmospheric concentrations of heat-trapping greenhouse gases. The report is based on scientific evidence that a warming world will be accompanied by changes in the intensity, duration, frequency, and geographic extent of weather and climate extremes.

NCE Library

The NCE has amassed a large collection of publications, research papers, and other print materials on climate change and adaptation. Now, the contents of our library are searchable online.

Papers published from 2005 Rapid Landscape Change Conference

The Rapid Landscape Change Conference was held in Whitehorse in June 2005, and reviewed current research on the effects of climate and landscape change in the North throughout the Holocene, and on the chronology and nature of past environmental events. A selection of papers from the conference has just now been published in The Northern Review #28. Conference participants may obtain PDFs of specific papers upon request to review@yukoncollege.yk.ca.

Kick the Habit: a UN guide to climate neutrality

A new book from the United Nations Environment Programme gives people information on how to reduce their carbon footprint without drastic lifestyle changes. Released on World Environment Day 2008, "Kick the Habit" contains simple tips and techniques for living a climate-friendly life.

New International Polar Year educational resources

The Royal Canadian Geographical Society, in collaboration with the Canadian Council for Geographic Education and the Canadian Polar Commission, has developed a set of bilingual lesson plans on Canada's North for elementary, intermediate and secondary schools in Canada to mark International Polar Year (IPY).

In support of IPY's aim to engender the next generation of polar scientists, these lesson plans are certain to kindle an interest in the study of the Canadian North – its human and physical geography, and its past, present and future challenges. They offer teachers and students intriguing opportunities to explore and discover Northern issues from climate change and resource industries to transportation and Inuit settlement.

The lesson plans are freely available for viewing and downloading in word document or PDF formats.

NCE Dawson Adaptation Project – newsletter and posters available

The Northern Climate ExChange is participating in the development of a Climate Change Adaptation Plan for Dawson City. We will be publishing a quarterly newsletter, the Adaptation Times, to keep residents of Dawson City informed about the project. The May 2008 issue is now available. We have also produced a set of posters that explain the project and give background on climate change, adaptation, and ongoing research.

2006-2007 NCE Annual Report

The latest edition of the Northern Climate ExChange Annual Report is now available to download. This report will tell you all you ever wanted to know about the NCE's activities and projects from April 1, 2006 to March 31, 2007.

Human Activity And The Environment: Climate Change in Canada, 1990 to 2005

Canada's emissions of greenhouse gases, major contributors to climate change, rose 25% between 1990 and 2005. However, without increases in energy efficiency, the increase in emissions would have been even greater. This compilation of the most recent statistics related to climate change in Canada is published in the 2007 and 2008 edition of Human Activity and the Environment, Statistics Canada's compendium of information on how Canadians interact with their environment.

Turning the Corner: An action plan to reduce greenhouse gases and air pollution

On March 10 the Government of Canada published details of the Turning the Corner regulatory framework originally announced on April 26, 2007. The documents, posted to Environment Canada's website, provide additional details about how the Government of Canada will move forward with its plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

This plan includes mandatory reductions for industry, along with additional new measures to address two of Canada's key emitting sectors: oil sands and electricity.

From Impacts to Adaptation: Canada in a Changing Climate 2007

From Impacts to Adaptation: Canada in a Changing Climate 2007 reflects the advances made in understanding Canada's vulnerability to climate change during the past decade. Through a primarily regional approach, this assessment discusses current and future risks and opportunities that climate change presents to Canada, with a focus on human and managed systems. It is based on a critical analysis of existing knowledge, drawn from the published scientific and technical literature and from expert knowledge. The current state of understanding is presented, and key knowledge gaps are identified. Advances in understanding adaptation, as well as examples of recent and ongoing adaptation initiatives, are highlighted throughout the report.

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