A new study from the Fraser Institute, Adaptation and Resilience in the Face of Climate Change, says instead of trying to mitigate emissions, Canadian policy makers should instead be focused on making Canada resilient to climate change risks. It points out that Canada contributes less than two per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions – 1.45 per cent, to be more precise – and it criticizes leaders for not making adaptation more of a going concern.
“From the beginning of this debate, it was clear that there were two distinct pathways available as a response to the risks of climate change. Pathway 1 would try to forestall climate change by mitigating (that is, reducing) greenhouse gas emissions. Pathway 2 would focus on developing the means to adapt to a changing climate,” the report states. “The world’s environmental movements, international organizations such as the United Nations, and many national governments (including Canada’s) rapidly seized upon pathway 1 – mitigation – as the primary path to pursue, paying little more than lip-service to the idea of meeting climate risks with adaptation and/or resilience-building measures.”
The paper discusses the theoretical case for adaptation and notes that compared to Canada’s 1.45 per cent contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, China’s emissions reached 31.5 per cent in 2023. “Thus, virtually nothing Canada could do by way of mitigating its domestic greenhouse gas emissions could have a significant impact in reducing the potential risks Canada faces from a changing climate,” they write.
It should be noted that these percentages do not take into account the demographic weight of the two countries (emissions per capita).
The report states that it would be advisable for governments around the world, particularly those of low-emission countries like Canada, to shift their focus and concentrate their efforts on managing climate risks.
The Fraser Institute describes itself as an independent research organization on government actions. His particular focus is on economics, education, and society.
