Climate Change: Canadian Legal and Policy Responses

• Author: Jamie Benidickson
• Profession: Faculty of Law University of Ottawa
• Pages: 387-406

387

CHA PTER 19

CLIMATE CHANGE:

CANADIAN LEGAL AND

POLICY RESPONSES

The causes and consequences of climate change, as discuss ed in connec-

tion with the international legal context for Canadian environmental

law, now command attention at all levels of government and throughout

society for the range and complexity of challenges they present. Even as

it has become increasingly urgent to endeavour to mitigate the factors

and processes that contribute to ongoing climate change, simultaneous

efforts are es sential to facilitate adaptation to t he impact and effects of

climate cha nge that are already underway. Following a brief review of

climate change information, notably the work of the Intergovernmental

Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), this chapter surveys recent Canadian

responses at the federal level, in intergovernmental sett ings, in a num-

ber of provinces and with in the municipal context.

A. CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES

For the benef‌it of policy-makers, experts from the physical sciences as-

sociated with the IPCC summarized their current understanding of the

contribution of human activity to changing atmospheric conditions:

Global atmos pheric concentr ations of carbon dioxide, methane and

nitrous oxide have increased marked ly as a result of human activities

since 1750 and now far exceed pre-industr ial values . . . . The globa l

increase s in carbon dioxide concent ration are due prim arily to fossi l

ENVIRONMENTA L LAW388

fuel use and land-use ch ange, while those of methane and nitrous

oxide are primar ily due to agriculture.1

In the view of the same IPCC assessors, “war ming of the cli mate sys-

tem is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations or increases in

global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow

and ice, and rising global average sea level.”2

Long-term changes in climate have been observed at the contin-

ental and regional bases and on the ocean basin level as well. These

observations include signif‌icant increases in Arctic temperatures and

changes in ice conditions, pronounced alteration in precipitation levels,

shifting wind patterns as well as weather extremes such as droughts,

heavy precipitation, heat waves and more intense tropical c yclones.

IPCC scientists have concluded that “most of the observed increase

in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-20th century is ve ry

likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas

concentrat ions.”3 Projections based on modelling support the expecta-

tion that

[c]ontinued greenhouse gas emissions at or above current rates would

cause further warm ing and i nduce ma ny cha nges in the globa l cli-

mate system duri ng the 21st century that would very likely be larger

than those ob served during the 20th centur y.4

Examinations of climate change and its anticipated sectoral impacts

on agriculture, forestry, and f‌isheries, for example, have also been con-

ducted from t he Canad ian perspective.5 On a broad scale, ecos ystems

and habitat are transformed by climate change with disruptive implica-

tions for biodiversity and dependent human populations. Regionally-

focused studies, including studies of the Canadian Arctic, the Prair ies

and the Great Lake s have pursued the i nquiry in more detail.6 The lat-

1 Intergovernment al Panel on Climate Change, Clima te Change 2007: The Physical

Science Basis — Summary for Policymakers (Cambridge: Cambr idge University

Press, 2007) at 2, on line: http://ipcc-wg1.ucar.edu/wg1/docs/ WG1AR4_SPM_

PlenaryApproved.pdf.

2 Ibid. at 4.

3 Ibid. at 8 [emphasis i n original].

4 Ibid. at 10.

5 Canada, Cl imate Change Impacts and Ad aptation Program, Climate C hange Im-

pacts and Ad aptation: A Canadian Perspect ive (Ottawa: Cli mate Change Impacts

and Adaptation P rogram, 2004).

6 George W. Kling et al., Confronting Climate Ch ange in the Great Lakes Region: Im-

pacts on Our Communit ies and Ecosystems (Cambridge, MA: Union of C oncerned

Scientist s, 2003); S. Nickels et al., Unikkaa qatigiit — Putting the Huma n Face on

Climate Change: Perspectives f rom Inuit in Canada (Ottawa: Inuit Tapiriit Ka nata-