Climate adaptation clearly reflected in Housing & Climate Task Force Blueprint

OTTAWA, ON, March 5, 2024 /CNW/ - In response to the Housing & Climate Task Force's release today of its Blueprint for More and Better Housing, Jason Clark, Chair, Climate Proof Canada, issued the following statement:

"Canada needs 5.8 million new homes by 2030 to restore housing affordability. Climate Proof Canada is pleased that 18 of the recommendations from its National Climate Adaptation Summit were cited in the formation of the Blueprint.

One of the requirements of the National Adaptation Strategy (NAS) is that resilience must be incorporated into all infrastructure investments by 2024. Canada must recognize the impact climate change is having on households across the country. We must factor resilience measures into housing investments so that we build homes in the right way and in the right places, so that households are protected now and into the future.

Where we build resilient homes represents the biggest opportunity in the report. Seizing it will require coordinated leadership by all orders of government. As such, we call on governments to legalize density, including by eliminating unit maximums, abolishing parking minimums, and adopting ambitious density rules near transit lines, as well as ensuring no new housing is built in areas at high risk of worsening climate hazards.

Focusing new housing in cities and communities, where there is existing infrastructure, can cut housing costs, speed up construction times, reduce carbon pollution and help prevent catastrophic loss due to climate threats like wildfire and flooding.

Climate Proof Canada urges the Federal Government to act on these critical Blueprint recommendations:

1.    Build in the right ways:

a.    Immediately overhaul the National Model Building Codes to simplify and harmonize requirements, integrate physical climate resilience measures, and support integration with local building performance standards to reflect changing regional climate risks.

2.    Build in the right places:

a.    Work with provinces and municipalities to improve the mapping of climate impacts such as flood and wildfire hazards while ensuring government funds do not support housing and infrastructure development in areas identified as high-risk.

b.    Design and adopt national standards for Climate Resilience Residential Rating and Community Resilience.

c.    Implement a Nationwide Hazard Mapping Initiative: Instruct relevant federal and provincial agencies to collaborate on developing detailed hazard maps, focusing on areas prone to natural disasters, environmental risks, and urban congestion. These maps should be made publicly available and updated annually to aid in informed policy-making.

d.    Redesign government disaster financial aid programs to incentivize communities to realign land use planning and focus on new construction in areas with lower hazard exposure.

3.    Protect existing communities:

a.    In Budget 2024, invest the necessary resources to establish and administer a low cost National Flood Insurance Program for those at the highest risk and invest in measures to help those who may not be captured under the program.

b.    Implement a national education program to promote guidance on extreme weather protection and physical risk at the level of the home. 

Climate Proof Canada developed a series of recommendations to guide federal investment that will enable Canada to make rapid, tangible progress on the targets set out in the NAS and become more climate resilient. A range of immediate actions that do not require additional budgetary investment was also identified."

Climate Proof Canada is a national coalition of Canadian business representatives, disaster relief organizations, municipalities, Indigenous organizations, environmental NGOs and think tanks that believe Canada must prepare for the present and growing effects of climate change by building a more disaster-resilient country. For more information, visit Climate Proof Canada.

SOURCE Climate Proof Canada