Climate Change and Sustainable Growth (CA0074)

Issue to be addressed People in Canada are increasingly concerned about climate change. According to a 2021 United Nations Development Program Survey, three-quarters of Canadians surveyed believed climate change is an emergency. As pointed out by the OECD, governments must keep the environment in mind in their COVID-19 recovery plans. Governments, the business community and citizens want to make informed decisions to help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, protect against climate risk, and adapt to climate change and modifications of the natural environment. The annual Synthesis Report on the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change provides information on Canada’s progress in the fight against climate change. Canada’s strengthened climate plan presents what the Government of Canada plans to do, with provinces, territories and Indigenous Peoples, to continue the fight against climate change, protect our environment, and ensure sustainable growth.

Problem statement People in Canada raised the need for the Government of Canada to better communicate and engage with citizens on its decisions and progress on combatting climate change and ensuring sustainable growth, as well as on the climate science, information and data underpinning its decisions and actions.

Commitment By doing its part to enhance access to detailed, reliable, accessible and timely climate and environmental science, information and data, and learning from Indigenous communities, the Government of Canada will join other levels of governments, businesses, and citizens in improving our collective understanding of climate change and its impacts on ecosystems. Overall, it will help inform decision-making and build climate change resiliency, which will contribute to the implementation of the National Adaptation Strategy, to be released in 2022-23.

Milestones

1.1 Through the Open Science and Data Platform make information related to cumulative effects, including climate change and sustainable growth, easier for people in Canada to find and understand WHAT IS OUR DEADLINE? By 2023 DEPT: NRCan

- 1.1.1 Add content and features to the Open Science and Data Platform, using user engagement and feedback, both internal and external to government, to set priorities for additions

- 1.1.2 Provide accessible science-based educational content on 10 key topics (air, biodiversity, climate, cumulative effects, development activities, economy and industry, health, land, society and culture, and water), which may be supported by interactive maps

- 1.1.3 Engage with governments, Indigenous Peoples and external groups (such as industry, environmental non-government organizations) to verify that cumulative effects are better understood, new content is identified (data, publications) and overall use of the platform is increased

1.2 Improve and expand information on energy use and GHG emissions through the Physical Flow Accounts as part of the Canadian Centre for Energy Information (CCEI) DEPT. StatCan

- 1.2.1 Share an infographic and datasets related to the GHG emissions embedded in goods and services purchased by households. Link and share environmental data on energy consumption and GHG emission physical flow accounts with economic satellite accounts on tourism, clean technologies, natural resources By June 2024

- 1.2.2 Develop an “Energy and Environment” webpage for the CCEI portal that will include detailed GHG information from both StatCan and ECCC, including several data visualization dashboards and indicators By 2022

- 1.2.3 Link and share environmental data on energy consumption and GHG emission Physical Flow Accounts with economic satellite accounts on transportation and agriculture By June 2024

1.3 Making climate change science more open and accessible

- 1.3.1 New metric to be designed and included in yearly reports to assess open access of climate change science publication using data from an abstract and citation database ECCC, By June 2022

- 1.3.2 Yearly reports on progress against existing metrics that measure how science-based departments and agencies implement open science, with a focus on open access metrics and diverse types of open access, to be released in the open ECCC, By June 2022 for reporting year 2022, and June 2023 for reporting year 2023

- 1.3.3 Support 10 climate change innovation research projects and 10 master’s students focused on the intersection of machine learning and climate change in sub-Saharan Africa and promote knowledge exchange with Canadian scholars IDRC, By December 2024

- 1.3.4 Work with Lacuna Fund to support the creation, aggregation and maintenance of open datasets for the training and evaluation of machine learning models by and for local communities most affected by climate change around the world IDRC, By March 2023

1.4 Provide accessible, reliable and practical climate data and information to support adaptation decision-making and help people of Canada, across all sectors and regions, build their resilience to climate change. WHAT IS OUR DEADLINE? By March 2023 DEPT. ECCC

- 1.4.1 Increase the number of clients accessing climate information through Canadian Centre for Climate Services (CCCS) services by 10% by 2023 from 2021 baseline, by working to increase climate data and addressing information gaps driven by user needs

- 1.4.2 Publish two sector-based modules on Climate Data by 2023 to provide relevant climate projections and information for users in the building and transportation sectors

- 1.4.3 Respond to at least 300 user enquiries via the CCCS support desk each year to continue to provide high-level quality of support, and use their feedback to help us advance our mandate to help users understand and become more resilient to climate change

Action Plan Review

Commitment 1. Climate Change and Sustainable Growth