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

Integrating Climate Change Considerations into Public Health Policies: Obstacles and Opportunities

The wide range and potential magnitude of the effects of climate change on human health & well-being means that both public and private decision makers need to integrate such considerations into public health promotion and protection activities through targeted adaptation initiatives.

Adaptation refers to actions, measures, strategies and policies that offset or reduce the effects of climate change and variability. As the adaptive capacity of the country, region or community increases, the vulnerability to climate change lessens, resulting in smaller costs associated with impacts. Successful adaptation will depend upon, among other factors, technological capability, institutional arrangements, availability of financing, and exchange of information.⁷

Over the course of history, human societies have successfully adapted to climate in all its varieties. Canadians have always found ways of coping with climate change and variability and extremes. We have built a large and powerful country in an area subject to a very harsh climate. Adaptation to our current climate has, over decades and centuries, been carefully and painstakingly built into virtually all our designs and practices so gradually that it is scarcely recognized. The design of highways, bridges and culverts, residences, all industrial and commercial structures, airports, coastal ports and harbour installations, drainage systems, communications cables and transmission lines, are all designed and built to suit the present climate and to withstand most extremes. Similarly, our farming practices, our water resources and river basin management, forest practices, health standards, land use planning, power supply, and insurance policies are designed and carried out in a way that provides effective protection from the existing climate. The Canadian experience over the course of history indicates that adaptive measures and policies sensibly and consistently applied over the long-term can produce excellent results and enhance health and well-being.⁸

Obstacles

Maladaption

Maladaption can result in serious negative impacts. Non-climate related side effects can have adverse consequences (e.g. fish farms may lead to impoverished biodiversity instead of increased fish stocks). In addition, adaptive responses vary in effectiveness. Current efforts to cope with climate stresses, such as heat waves, illustrate some effective and non-effective adaptation measures (e.g. deaths and illnesses). The systematic nature of climate impacts complicates adaptation. Simultaneous impacts have wide ranging effects and adaptation measures may create other problems (e.g. sea walls may damage wetlands).⁹

Costs

The costs associated with adaptation can be high and can only be very roughly estimated at the present time. The incremental costs (financial and political) of some risk management options may limit the options available to some jurisdictions in Canada.

However, as noted above, the costs associated with weather variability and extreme events (e.g. Red River flood 1997, Quebec ice storm 1998) and other impacts will remain significant and are likely to increase over present levels as recent trends already indicate. For example, from 1983 to 1987 Governments paid $131 million for weather-related disasters in Canada. In 1998 they paid $1.27 billion.¹⁰

Scientific Uncertainty

As noted above, policy deliberations regarding the needed actions to protect health and well-being from a changing climate should be informed by sound scientific information concerning the impacts of climate change, the vulnerability and sensitivity of Canadians to it and existing options for adaptation that are effective in reducing the risks. Currently, there are gaps in knowledge along all of these dimensions due to uncertainty about future climatic processes, especially at the regional level, and the related potential health effects. With such scientific uncertainty the risk of maladaption, or an inefficient deployment of scarce resources, is a possible outcome of targeted initiatives to protect Canadians from the effects of climate change.

Opportunities

Although the climate is changing at an unprecedented rate and there is scientific uncertainty about the various processes, the opportunity exists to make progress in a manner that is affordable and that is protective of human health & well being.

With the aid of such organizations as the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives and Partners for Climate Protection program, municipalities have begun to address climate change issues through the development of policies and plans, training, educational seminars, information tools and project advice to local authorities. In addition, municipalities are indirectly acting upon climate change and greenhouse gas reduction by 'co-benefit'; actions currently underway, such as the reduction of local air pollution, efficient use of energy and water, coping with natural disasters and development of treed streets and areas.¹¹

A number of funding programs exist to alleviate some of the cost pressures related to adaptation measures. For example, the Federal Government announced the Infrastructure Program which commits $2.65 billion over six years to projects that support clean air and water, transportation and affordable housing. Funding programs that provide direct support to public health activities also exist such as the $7 million that Health Canada has committed to spend over the next three years for community health initiatives (e.g., Aboriginal health, health information technology, health promotion, primary health care, etc.) in Vancouver. This announcement is in the spirit of the Vancouver Agreement - a five-year partnership between the Government of Canada, Province of British Columbia and City of Vancouver to implement a coordinated strategy for sustainable social, economic and community development in Vancouver. For a list of other funding programs which may be useful in offsetting some of the costs of climate change and health and well-being adaptation measures see Annex 2, and the Health Canada Web site.

The current scientific uncertainty surrounding the nature and magnitude of the health impacts of climate change suggest that integration of climate change considerations into public health policies needs further vulnerability risk assessment. However, we can take some actions now. Various types of policy options available in this regard are listed below. In addition, Annex 3 provides an overview of a wide range of adaptation measures that decision makers might consider for addressing the impacts of climate change on air and water quality, vulnerable populations, and infectious diseases. These health concerns will be the focus of discussions at the Policy and Planning Conference (September 5-7, 2001).

Impacts and Adaptation Policy Options in the face of Scientific Uncertainty

1. New policies/actions to address climate change and health that have little cost/risk associated with them (e.g., actions to facilitate information exchange).
2. New "no-regrets" policies or actions. No-regrets policies have costs associated with them but are justified by a wide range of factors and not just climate change and health considerations (e.g., enhanced urban planning). Regardless of what changes occur (e.g., climatic changes), these strategies will provide a net benefit to human health, society, the environment and the economy.
3. Current policies that may be revised or altered with little cost/risk to integrate climate change and health considerations. This may include policies that undergo revision due to reviews/critiques (e.g., toxics management, pesticides, air quality, water quality, public health infrastructure, etc.).
4. New policies or actions that may have higher costs or risks but are based on the Precautionary Principle. The Precautionary Principle states that "...where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation" (Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999). This principle would therefore legitimate the use of higher cost actions to protect human health from serious threats such as climate change even in the face of significant uncertainty about the causes and effects of this phenomenon.

Many communities and commercial operations have already adapted successfully and economically to warmer climates than Canada';s. They can offer valuable lessons, processes, procedures and experiences for Canadian municipalities and businesses for integrating climate change considerations into public health activities.¹² Given the importance of using the experience of others to advance adaptation without making costly mistakes, Annex 4 provides a number of case studies of current adaptation efforts in Canada which either directly or indirectly relate to human health and well-being.

---