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

Introduction: Climate Change and Health and Well-being in Canada

The Changing Climate System

Scientists, governments and international bodies have recognized that greenhouse gas accumulations in the atmosphere will change the global climate, and will affect the environment and human health and well-being.¹ The range of potential health effects from this phenomenon is quite broad. Some communities will be more vulnerable than others, for geographic reasons, due to health status or because of limited resources. Much is already being done to better understand the causes and long-term patterns of climate change and climate variability in Canada.

Average temperatures over Canada have increased in the past century with the largest increases in central, northwest and northern regions. At the same time, there were decreases in temperature in some eastern regions. There will also be an increase in climate variability and we can expect more extreme weather events. Much of central and northern Canada may experience a mean temperature increase of 5^oC, or more, by the second part of this century while the waters off the coast of Labrador and Newfoundland and nearby coastal areas are projected to continue cooling. The rest of Canada, including most of the larger communities, is in the 3^oC to 5^oC temperature rise range.²

The Canada Country Study, completed by Environment Canada in 1997, reviewed the scientific and technical literature to identify the current knowledge of the potential impacts of climate change on Canada along with possible adaptive responses. The Canada Country Study Climate Impacts and Adaptation - National Summary for Policy Makers, which can be viewed at http://www.ec.gc.ca/climate/ccs/policysummary_e.htm, highlights a number of projected physical changes for Canada including:

• An increase in the occurrence of extremely hot days, and a decrease in the occurrence of extremely cold days.
• More severe droughts and/or floods in some locations in Canada.
• More intensive and violent summer storms and winter storms.
• Increases in frost heave, thaw settlement and slope instability associated with permafrost melting in the North, which could damage structures including airports, roads, railways, buildings, waste dumps, water diversion channels, utility lines and pipelines.
• Impacts on lifestyles in the North due to possible changes in the availability and distribution of wildlife and related food resources.
• Longer and warmer frost-free periods across Canada which may improve conditions for commercial agriculture, if the soil moisture is sufficient.
• Increases in sustainable marine fish harvests for most of the Arctic, and for northern freshwater fish, while there may be general decreases for Pacific (e.g., southern salmon, cod), and Atlantic marine and southern freshwater fish (e.g., trout, whitefish, grayling).
• Forests are expected to shift northward in Canada due to climate change, but may experience increased drought stress, an increase in frequency and severity of fire, more frequent and severe storm and wind damage, especially in coastal regions.

Current mathematical climate models cannot yet reliably predict the impacts of climate change on specific regions in Canada. However, the effects of climate change will likely vary considerably across the country. Natural Resource Canada';s (NRCan) document Sensitivities to Climate Change in Canada provides a series of maps which show some of the environmental

changes that could occur in Canada due to a doubling of CO^2.. For example, the Sensitivity to Sea Level Rise map shows that rising water levels could impact a wide range of human structures and activities in the Maritimes, along portions of the Beaufort Sea coastline, and around the urbanized Fraser Delta near Vancouver. The maps can be viewed at:
http://sts.gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/clf /geoserv.asp

Human Health & Well-Being Impacts of Climate Change

Much is being done in Canada to better understand the causes and long-term patterns of climate change and climate variability, and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the development and use of cleaner technologies. The Federal Government';s recently announced Action Plan 2000 on Climate Change focuses primarily on greenhouse gas emissions reductions by committing $500 million over 5 years for initiatives targeted at specific sectors.

Although many successful mitigation measures to reduce the impact of greenhouse gas emissions are already underway, it is also recognized that mitigation efforts will not totally eliminate the risks of climate change. Even if the provisions of the Kyoto Protocol are fully met by all participating countries, the date at which CO² will double in the atmosphere will simply be/ pushed back. Therefore Canada will have to cope with, and adapt to, the many climate-related environmental changes which have already begun, particularly in the North, and which will affect the future health and well-being of Canadians.

The Canada Country Study briefly describes some of the impacts climate change will have on health arising from thermal extremes, extreme events, environmental contamination and other occurrences. Health Canada recently identified eight significant climate change induced health effects which are expected to increase in the future in this country. They include health and well-being effects related to increased smog episodes, heat waves, water and food borne contamination, vector-borne diseases, stratospheric ozone depletion and extreme weather events. These effects are expected to be particularly severe for vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, the poor, disabled people, immigrant populations and Aboriginal Canadians. A host of broad socio-economic issues related to climate change are also of considerable concern, including changed determinants of environmental health and well-being, vulnerability of community economies and the health and social risks of climate change mitigation actions (below).

Canada's Health Impacts From Climate Change And Variability

Health Concerns	Examples of Health Vulnerabilities
Temperature-related morbidity and mortality	Cold and heat related illnesses Respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses Increased occupational health risks
Health effects of extreme weather events	Damaged public health infrastructure Injuries and illnesses Social and mental health stress due to disasters Occupational health hazards Preparedness and population displacement
Air pollution-related health effects	Changed exposure to outdoor and indoor air pollutants and allergens Asthma and other respiratory diseases Heart attacks strokes and other cardiovascular diseases Cancer
Water- and food-borne contamination	Enteric diseases (diarrhea, vomiting, etc.)
Vector-borne infectious diseases	Changed patterns of diseases caused by bacteria, viruses and other pathogens carried by mosquitos, ticks and other vectors
Stratospheric ozone depletion and increased exposure to ultra-violet radiation	Skin damage and skin cancer Cataracts Disturbed immune function
Population vulnerabilities in rural and urban communities	Seniors Children Chronically ill Low income and homeless Subsistence populations Disabled Recent immigrants
Health and Socio- Economic Impacts on Community Health and Well-being	Changed determinants of health and well-being Global burden of disease Vulnerability of community economies Health co-benefits and risks of GHG reduction technologies

The effects of climate change will vary by region, with considerable regional differences in patterns of warming, precipitation and extreme events. The climate impacts will vary across demographic groups and the effects may be more severe on children, elderly, and poor. Some areas or population groups may be able to adapt more easily than others.

Although it is not possible to ascribe recent severe weather-related events directly to climate change, examples of such events help to provide an indication of the risks to health and well-being that may face Canadians in the future. For example, the Assiniboine, Red and Winnipeg river flood of May 1997 caused the evacuation of over 25 000 people and resulted in $815 million in damages. The southern Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick Ice Storm in January 1998 resulted in massive power outages affecting 4.7 million people. Over 600 000 people had to be evacuated, and 28 deaths and 945 injuries occurred. Total damages were about $5.4 billion. In July, 2000 a tornado hit Pine Lake causing 12 deaths, 14 injuries and displacing close to 1000 people.³

The Climate Change and Health Office (CCHO) at Health Canada is the focal point for the federal government for health and climate change issues. The role of the CCHO is to collaboratively develop Canadian health policies for assessing and managing the risks to health from climate change and climate variability. The CCHO also facilitates the development in Canada of a foundation of interdisciplinary evidence, including inherent uncertainties, to support health policy development. In addition, it facilitates processes for open dialogue that include all stakeholders, as well as access to the knowledge generated by these activities.

Recognizing that climate change may pose serious impacts to the health and well-being of Canadians, Health Canada sponsored a workshop of internationally recognized experts in January, 1999. The purpose of this workshop was to begin the process of ensuring that health science informs decision makers of national policies and priorities involved in selecting climate change adaptation and mitigation options. Some key policy related recommendations followed from this workshop including the need for interdisciplinary approaches to science and policy development, the enrichment of current public health infrastructure, strengthening of existing surveillance and monitoring systems and continual consultation and dialogue involving all stakeholders. The workshop document Capitalizing on Science: Report of a Workshop on Climate Change, Science and Health can be obtained by contacting the Climate Change and Health Office.

Health Canada also has now organized its First Annual Climate Change and Health & Well-being National Policy and Planning Conference (September 5-7, 2001) involving policy analysts and practitioners from federal health programs, provincial and territorial Ministries of Health, community health programs, and health and environmental non-governmental organizations.

The goal of the conference was to coordinate the development of collaborative policy networks, or alternative cooperative mechanisms, to assist in the development of Canada';s health impact assessment guidelines, and to begin addressing priority health issues which will help Canada successfully adapt to climate change. The purpose of this document is to provide participants of the conference with information on the possible health effects of climate change and potential adaptation measures to facilitate discussions in the breakout groups and plenary discussions.

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