'No going backwards': How Waterloo region can prepare for extreme weather, climate change

With a sweeping United Nations report again warning about the irreversible effect of climate change, a University of Waterloo professor says the region needs to ready itself for extreme heat and flooding in the years to come. 

"Should we lower greenhouse gas emissions? The answer is yes, and that's the proper thing to do," said Blair Feltmate, head of the Ontario university's Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation. 

"But we also need to prepare for the extreme weather that is coming at us, that is more extreme than we've experienced to date, for which there is no going backwards."

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report says climate change is already affecting many weather extremes around the world. Evidence of observed changes range from heat waves and heavy rain to droughts and cyclones

Homeowners should be prepared for more basement flooding, which Feltmate said is among the most expensive consequences of extreme weather in Canada. 

That means: 

• Extending drainpipes and correcting grading to direct water away from house foundation.
• Installing window well covers. 
• Testing sump pumps ahead of time. 

Kate Daley, environmental sustainability specialist for the Region of Waterloo, said homeowners could also consider installing heat pumps, which provide more efficient heating and cooling than other options. One of the region's long-term goals, Daley said, is to transition all buildings away from using fossil fuels.

"Finding solutions like heat pumps that can help protect people from extreme weather and can help our community transition off of fossil fuels is really key." 

Cooling centres, generators will be necessary

It isn't just up to individuals to get ready for worsening climate change, Feltmate said. Communities should maintain up-to-date flood risk maps and have measures in place to direct water to safe locations, so they don't wind up "trying to put hundreds of thousands of sandbags in place," he said. 

When it comes to heat, Feltmate said, measures like maintaining tree canopies and painting tops of buildings white, rather than black, can help lower temperatures. 

Cooling centres and backup generators — to maintain fans and air conditioning in residential buildings — will be crucial, Feltmate said. Social services must to be ready to check in on vulnerable people during future heat waves. 

Many of Feltmate's suggestions are part of the region's Community Climate Change Adaptation Plan, passed in 2019. The actions identified in the plan will be assessed and the plan will be revised on a five-year monitoring cycle, the report said. 

CBC KW asked the region for an update on the action items, but didn't hear back by publication time. 

Region hopes to cut 80% of emissions by 2050 

Beyond preparing for extreme weather, Feltmate and Daley agreed the region has a role to play in slashing greenhouse gas emissions to keep climate change from getting worse. 

Earlier this summer, the region passed a climate action strategy that hopes to cut emissions 80 per cent by the year 2050. A major part of the plan involves changing how people get around, given that Daley said transportation accounts for about 50 per cent of local greenhouse gas emissions. 

"We need to make, by 2050, most of our trips by walking, cycling or rolling with the support of a robust transit system, and we need all remaining vehicles on the road to be zero-emission vehicles, like electric vehicles," Daley said. 

Daley is optimistic that people in the region are ready to make a change. 

"We really do have an opportunity to take this global problem and solve locally our contribution to it." 

'Need to act urgently,' says Green leader

At a provincial level, Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner wants to reduce urban sprawl, which he said leads to longer commutes and more fossil fuel emissions.

Electrifying public transportation and investing in clean technology are also part of his party's plan to address climate change. 

"This is an opportunity for Ontario to create new careers, better jobs for people, improve people's health and improve people's lives, but we need to act urgently," said Schreiner, the MPP for Guelph.