Climate Change Adaptation Fundamentals

Climate Change Adaptation Fundamentals

Introduction and Welcome

Climate Change Adaptation Fundamentals 

 

"Climate Change Adaptation Fundamentals – Introduction and Welcome" by Stewart CohenClimate Change Fundamentals Adaptation Learning Network is licensed under CC BY 4.0 except where indicated. For external links to resources, review the rights and permission details.  

Introduction and Welcome

Welcome to this 4-week course, Climate Change Adaptation Fundamentals. My name is Dr. Stewart Cohen and I'll be facilitating the course using videos, discussion forums, and other learning activities each week/module.

 

This course has been designed to help professionals working across multiple disciplines bring a climate change adaptation lens to their current and future projects. It’s structured in four modules, that cover:

  • what the current climate change situation is, including the latest science and scenarios;
  • why climate change matters to professionals and planners, in terms of risk and impact;
  • what we can do about it, through examples and methods of adaptation, and;
  • how to bring adaptation tools, data and processes into your work, with a practice project.

At the end of the course, participants will understand basic climate change science and scenarios, and be able to identify the data and tools required to plan an adaptation project.

Each module includes one or more video-lectures and discussion forums that are designed to prompt reflection and integration of core concepts. The final module involves learners in a capstone activity designed to support the application of the learning to a real-world, learner-relevant case example. Each module also contains resources (e.g., relevant reports, video links).

Although you are not required to engage in the learning activities at any specific time, it is recommended that you complete the activities for each module within that week in order to maximize learning and provide opportunities for meaningful discussion with the instructor and your fellow learners.

Throughout this course we will also be listening to portions of the CBC Podcast 2050: Degrees of Change. This podcast features Johanna Wagstaffe, a Vancouver based meteorologist. It provides a portrait of BC in the year 2050 based on current climate change science projections. The podcast blends evidence-informed perspectives on climate change and climate adaptation with a fictional account of a young girl, Ariadne, as she navigates a climate changed world. Though we provide links to specific clips of interest, you may find it worthwhile to listen to the entire, 7-part series, which you can access here.

We will start here by listening to this excerpt of the CBC Podcast 2050: Degrees of Change News Montage. Stop listening at 1:44 and return to this screen.

The course is guided by myself, Dr. Stewart Cohen, and story strategist Denise Withers. In the following video, we introduce ourselves and provide an overview of the course.

http://admin.video.ubc.ca/tiny/lr1wj

Video attribution:  "Climate Change Adaptation Fundamentals - Module 1 introduction to module 1" by Stewart CohenClimate Change FundamentalsAdaptation Learning Network is licensed under CC BY 4.0.  The images used in the slides in the video are not CC BY.

 

Doctor Climate Change Blog

https://doctorclimatechange.com/

Readings & Resources

This page is a compilation of all of the course readings and resources used in all Modules.

Glossary of Key Terms from 2014 IPCC 5th Assessment Report, Working Group II

The Canadian Institute for Climate Choices

Adaptation and the Press

Executive Summary of Canada's Changing Climate Report (2019)

Full report (includes link to individual chapters)

Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium (PCIC) is our regional climate service centre. PCIC conducts quantitative studies on the impacts of climate change and climate variability in the Pacific and Yukon region, providing regional climate information for planning.

The BC Government's Resources for Preparing and Adapting to Climate Change is a great resource for existing tools, climate change health facts, the recent BC Climate Risk Assessment, which we discuss in Module 3.

You may also want to dive into Canada's interactive Climate Atlas, where you can explore how various aspects of climate change are playing out in different regions of Canada and explore maps, graphs and climatedata for provinces, local regions and cities across the country.

The Canadian Centre for Climate Services is another resource for climate resources, climate change concepts and trends, climate data, and has a climate-service support desk if you have further questions.

Abbott and Chapman – sections on the 2017 wildfire

Canada’s Changing Climate Report – Executive Summary

Canada’s Changing Climate Report – Chapter 8

IPCC 5th Assessment, Working Group II, Summary for Policymakers (SPM)

Council of Canadian Academies, Canada’s Top Climate Change Risks – method and summary of results

BC Government, Preliminary Strategic Climate Risk Assessment for British Columbia – method and summary of results

Cohen, S. J. (2010). From observer to extension agent – using research experiences to enable proactive responses to climate change. Climate change, 100(1), 131-135.

Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction A global, non-binding agreement followed by 187 countries that focuses on best practices for disaster risk reduction and resilience building.

Emergency Management Act

Climate preparedness and adaptation strategy

BC Climate Risk Assessment (scheduled to be released in late 2020)

Tools (these are technical resources, so just focus on the overall framing and application)

IDF curves

Fire Weather Index

Adaptation examples in British Columbia

Sea level rise guidance

Qualicum Beach Waterfront Plan

Vancouver Climate Change Adaptation Strategy

Adaptation / Mitigation links

IPCC 5th Assessment Report, Working Group II, Chapter 2 (focus on Section 2.5.1 – Assessing synergies and trade-offs with mitigation, including Figure 2-4)

 

"Climate Change Adaptation Fundamentals – Introduction and Welcome" by Stewart CohenClimate Change Fundamentals Adaptation Learning Network is licensed under CC BY 4.0 except where indicated. For external links to resources, review the rights and permission details.  


 

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