On December 12, 2015, 196 parties who were attending the 21^stUnited Nations Conference of Parties (COP21) held just outside Paris, France, ratified the Paris Agreement, the first legally binding international document dedicated to climate change. This signalled that it was now being internationally acknowledged that climate change is a genuine threat, and that steps should be taken to prevent further damage, most specifically, rising temperatures. The Paris Agreement states that one of its main goals is “to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.” The ratification of this agreement legalizes this goal and others, providing definitive targets for governments globally (1).

One of the national parties to ratify the Paris Agreement was Canada, a country that has garnered global attention in 2023 due to widespread impacts of the climate crisis. In July 2023, record high temperatures caused by the changing climate have affected northern Canada in Yukon and the Northwest Territories, raising concerns about the health of humans and wildlife. Scorching temperatures have caused severe heat warnings and have broken previous heat records by several degrees. These record-breaking temperatures further exceeded the 21 new high temperature records set in Yukon in May (2). Northern circumpolar permafrost contains between 1.4-1.6 trillion metric tonnes of carbon, twice as much carbon as currently contained in the earth’s atmosphere (3). Release of the carboniferous material by permafrost thaw will result in greenhouse gas release that will further accelerate the climate crisis.

Rising temperatures are not the only effect of climate change impacting Canada, but rising sea levels as well. Bordering the Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic oceans, Canada has the longest national coastline in the world. It has been projected that sea levels may rise as much as 175 cm in parts of Canada by the end of this century, making flooding a serious threat to the 600,000 people living in coastal communities (4).

An effort to mitigate these issues is the 2023–2024 plan by the Department of the Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), which outlines an actionable roadmap to support sustainable living, renewable energy, and pollution mitigation and management in order to mitigate and adapt to climate change, and to achieve the goal of conserving 30% of lands and oceans by 2030 – known as the 30 X 30 campaign (5). A country rich in biodiversity, Canada is home to millions of species, and ecologically valuable forests, wetlands and peat bogs, providing crucial carbon sinks. With these abundant natural resources, nature-based solutions provide an opportunity to mitigate the climate crisis and conserve valuable biodiversity at the same time.          

Sources:

1. United Nations Climate Change https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement

2. CTV

 https://www.ctvnews.ca/climate-and-environment/canada-s-far-north-under-heat-warnings-amid-alarming-rise-in-record-breaking-temperatures-1.6475370#:~:text=Temperature%20records%20broken%20in%20July%202023&text='That%20is%20the%20hottest%20temperature,35%20C%20set%20in%201989

3. The Globe and Mail

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-the-catastrophic-threat-of-thawing-permafrost-hangs-over-us-all/

4. National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health

https://ncceh.ca/resources/evidence-reviews/overview-canadian-communities-exposed-sea-level-rise

5. Ontario Nature

https://ontarionature.org/meeting-30-x-30-an-ambitious-target-blog/

Photo credit Alenka Skvarc - Kluane Lake, Yukon, Canada.