Canadian Govt's Own Experts Warn of Climate Change, Urge Action

"A new report from the government’s own Natural Resources Department on climate change adaptation released last week shows a growing recognition of the need to adapt to a changing climate but also highlights the gap between the research and the political action, critics and experts say.

The report, Canada in a Changing Climate: Sector Perspectives on Impacts and Adaptation, was written by 90 authors, 115 expert reviewers, and synthesized more than 1,500 recent publications. It looks at natural resources, food production, industry, biodiversity, protected areas, human health, and water and transportation.

'There is clearly a pretty big space between what the research and what experts are telling us about what’s going on and the political commitment on the part of governments and parties across the country to say, ‘This is real, we’ve got to do something about it,’' said David McLaughlin, former executive director of the National Roundtable on the Economy and the Environment, which the government cut in 2012. 'This at least helps to advance the knowledge.'"

Mark Burgess reports for the Hill Times June 30, 2014.