Canadian municipalities will need to invest $5.3 billion annually to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change, says a new report, as governments, residents and insurers brace for more frequent severe weather events.

The new study from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and the Insurance Bureau of Canada cautions that the “poor state of Canada’s aging infrastructure” leaves all levels of government vulnerable to the impacts of extreme weather events made more frequent by climate change.

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Bracing for the impact of floods will by far require the most significant municipal investment, the report says, while weather-proofing buildings is expected to be the largest infrastructure spending pool for local governments.

These climate change mitigation costs would be shared amongst all three orders of government, with the federal investment stream “well represented by current and future increased support to the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund,” according to the document.

“Municipalities, as the owners and operators of 60 per cent of the public infrastructure in Canada, are on the frontlines of both the impacts of climate change and the solutions to protect Canadians,” it reads.

“However, addressing climate risks by retrofitting existing infrastructure and implementing new adaptation measures poses an additional burden on the limited financial capacity of municipalities. Municipalities cannot shoulder the cost of adapting to climate change alone.”

A 2019 Government of Canada report found that the annual average temperature in Canada increased by 1.7 degrees Celsius since 1948, when nation-wide records became available. It also suggested that trends of more frequent and intense weather extremes will continue in the future, increasing flood and wildfire risks, among other impacts.

Canada has been hit hard by a flurry of extreme weather events in recent years, ranging from historic wildfires in Western Canada to frequent and damaging flooding events in the Prairies and Eastern Canada.

The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) reported earlier this year that severe weather caused $1.3 billion in insured damage in Canada in 2019, making it the seventh costliest year on record. The IBC noted that no single event caused the high amount paid out for losses in 2019, and instead the losses were attributable to “a host of smaller severe weather events from coast to coast.”

In fact, eight of the 10 costliest years on record for the IBC came in the last decade, with 2016, the year of the Fort McMurray wildfires, the most expensive year ever for insurers.

FCM president Bill Karsten said in a statement that all orders of government “can work together to protect the public infrastructure that Canadians rely on in their neighbourhoods.”

“This crucial new data that underscores the importance of greater investment in municipal adaptation and prevention amidst the effects of a changing environment,” he added.

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