Hi I'm Lisa, the Mayor of Mytown.
I participated in a mayor’s roundtable on climate change last week.
Did you know that Canada is warming up twice as fast as the rest of the world?
A warmer climate will mean more intense, extreme weather
something we are already noticing in Mytown.
I heard from other mayors that in coastal communities, rising sea level
and storm damage are often the biggest impacts of climate change.
In northern communities, it’s often degrading permafrost.
In urban centres it may be severe heat waves and water shortages in the summer,
more ice during the winter months, and significant spring flooding.
And in interior and rural communities it may be longer, drier summers,
as well as warmer, wetter winters.
Climate change may be a global issue, but it’s often us, municipalities,
facing the biggest impacts from extreme weather events.
Mytown has experienced significant flooding for the second year in a row!
This has put a heavy toll on residents and local businesses.
I’m concerned about public safety, protecting property, and disruptions to our local economy
as these types of events become more common.
How do we improve our resilience?
Tackling climate change is a top priority for Mytown.
The climate impacts almost everything about how we design, build, and live in our cities.
Mytown’s infrastructure assets are the foundation upon which we deliver these services.
Impacts from more severe storms, flooding, and other unexpected events have stretched
the capacity of our infrastructure which was not designed with these impacts in mind.
As we renew our infrastructure it is an ideal time to take big steps towards
becoming more resilient.
We're engaging in asset management planning to be more strategic about
how we deliver services.
We are integrating climate change into our decision making, utilizing a 4 step framework:
identification, assessment, prioritization and management.
We have identified the top climate change hazards for Mytown, as well as our infrastructure
and services that are most vulnerable.
This will inform how we adapt and respond to the effects of climate change.
We have assessed climate-related risks to our community,
and understand where we are most vulnerable.
We are starting to understand our ability to provide services in a sustainable manner.
We don’t have the staff or financial resources available to address all of our gaps at once,
or to resolve all of the risks Mytown could be exposed to.
We are speaking to residents about the cost of service delivery,
and seeking to understand their needs and priorities.
We want to make strategic decisions about how we balance the cost of providing services,
the levels at which we provide services, and potential risks both now and in the future.
The best solutions will require some tough decisions
and may involve several complementary actions over the next 5 to 50 years.
Our approach is one of continuous improvement – taking measured steps now, learning what
works for us, and evolving our program to achieve long term success.
By assessing and managing risks and levels of service from a climate change perspective,
we are now able to: Ensure that the most critical services to the community
will be available when needed in the future,
avoid spending public money on things that will not provide good value in the long term,
clearly articulate what community members can and can’t expect the municipality to do,
Make decisions about how to spend public money,
grounded in evidence and long-term financial evaluation.
Council is stepping up to the challenge of responding
and preparing for our changing future.
As the mayor of Mytown, I want to leave behind a legacy of community resilience.
I am focused on how Mytown can make decisions that serve both our short and long term needs.
How is your municipality integrating climate change
into asset management practices and decision-making?