Climate Change and Health and Well-Being: A Policy Primer

National Climate Change Process: The Human Health and Well-being Dimension

At the third meeting of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change at Kyoto in 1997, Canada agreed to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases to 6% below 1990 levels by 2008 - 2012.⁴ Canadian federal, provincial and territorial leaders agreed to work together on the implementation effort towards this goal. With this commitment, First Ministers directed federal, provincial and territorial Joint Ministers of Energy and Environment (JMM) in December 1997 to establish a national process to examine the impacts, costs and benefits of implementing the Kyoto Protocol and the various implementation options open to Canada.

Central to this process was the creation in April 1998 of 16 Issue Tables consisting of 450 experts from government, industry, academia and non-governmental organizations. These groups provided expert advice and detailed input into the identification, analysis, and assessment of implementation options and have produced extensive reports identifying a full range of options. The Issue Tables covered a wide range of sectors and cross-cutting issues (e.g., transportation, energy, municipalities etc.). However, there was no Issue Table formed to look specifically at the impacts of climate change on human health and well-being, and therefore, the provision of advice and analysis in this regard was quite limited.

The Government of Canada Climate Change Action Fund (CCAF) was established to provide funds ($150 million over three years) to support the work of the Issue Tables and other activities to help meet the Kyoto commitment. This process culminated in the First National Climate Change Business Plan (FNBP) which was announced in October, 2000. As noted above, Action Plan 2000 is the Federal Government';s contribution to the FNBP and will contribute $500 million over five years for specific actions to reduce greenhouse gases. Canada continues to be a participant in the international negotiations which are aimed at forging agreement on rules and mechanisms for implementing the Kyoto Protocol.

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