News – Climate Risk Institute

Building Skills for Climate Change: Low-Carbon Buildings Training

As part of Canada Green Building Council’s Building Skills for Climate Change: Low-Carbon Training Program, Climate Risk Institute (CRI), together with Engineers Canada, is developing a specialized low-carbon buildings training course for engineers and other practitioners in the building workforce. This specialized training aims to accelerate the adoption of low-carbon practices, reduce emissions, and contribute to Canada’s Climate Action Plan and Just Transition.

Using the PIEVC Protocol and Related Resources to Improve Risk-Informed Decision- Making Processes in the Kingdom of Lesotho

Global Initiative on Disaster Risk Management (GIDRM) is implementing, in conjunction with the Integrated Catchment Management (ICM) project, a climate risk-assessment tool with Lesotho’s water sector as an entry point for risk-informed development (RID). The focus of the assessment is on the Metolong Dam and associated infrastructure system, including the reservoir and further upstream and downstream components, including industrial and municipal users of the water resource. The project provided sustained mentorship to the in-country partners, to effectively involve them in the ultimate risk assessment, as well as formalized training on CCVRA methods

Climate Change Adaptation in Canada’s Energy Sector – Adaptation Resources Pathway

This work aimed to help close knowledge gaps in Canadian energy subsectors by expanding the understanding on the state of readiness of various actors in Canada’s energy sector, and actively helping to connect new actors to the existing community of adaptation practice. A large focus of this work included capacity building across the energy sector, with focus on certain subsectors that are not as far along as others in adaptation planning and implementation. After a robust engagement process (one-on-one interviews across all subsectors and presenting and facilitating at NRCan’s Adaptation Platform Energy Working Group meetings) and resource review, the project…

Building Awareness on Climate Resilient Infrastructure in Suriname

Together with Canada’s Technical Assistance Partnership (TAP) Expert Deployment Mechanism, CRI is working collaboratively with the Government of Suriname Ministry of Spatial Planning and Environment to address climate change priorities of the National Development Plan and National Adaptation Plan (NAP). The initiative aims to improve data and information collection systems and integrate climate change considerations into economic development policies, plans, and programs. It will enhance technical capacity, include gender inequalities in climate change adaptation initiatives, and identify and increase access to financing and investment geared toward climate change adaptation. The work will involve the development of a strategy to address strengths,…

Government of Nunavut’s Climate Change Risk and Resiliency Assessment

Throughout the development of a tailored climate change risk and resiliency assessment  (CCRRA) methodology for the Government of Nunavut (GN), several phases of work were completed to inform the process. First a detailed work plan was developed to guide the two-year project to ensure clear timelines, roles and responsibilities across the project team, project authority team, and GN Project Steering Committee. A comprehensive literature review and Current State Report was then completed to identify relevant GN documents, climate change risk assessment best practices, and adaptation work completed within Nunavut and similar jurisdictions. From here, preliminary engagement (e.g. cross-sectoral workshops, committee meetings)…

Pablo Rodriguez, M.Env.Sc, M.W.S

Pablo is a Senior Climate Resiliency Specialist with the Climate Risk Institute. Pablo has gained academic and professional experience at the intersection of climate change, sustainable development, and water resources management in Latin America, Europe and Canada. He has worked with governments, non-profit organizations, the United Nations and other international cooperation agencies. In the Canadian context, he has experience with municipal, provincial and national climate-related plans and policies, with an emphasis on climate change challenges in the Prairies. He also gained valuable knowledge working in the Northwest Territories on an academic project on water resources and climate change risks. These…

New Story Maps featuring key climate trends, impacts and opportunities

September 2022 Over the course of the past two years, the Council of the Great Lakes Region, with funding from Bruce Power and technical expertise and modelling from the Climate Risk Institute, has engaged agricultural, municipal, and Indigenous communities in Grey, Bruce, and Huron counties to produce knowledge and information products that address opportunities and risks related to climate change and specific environmental, cultural, and socioeconomic values and activities of importance to the communities. Consultations with Indigenous partners from Saugeen Ojibway Nation (SON), Historic Saugeen Métis (HSM) and Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) played a crucial role in the project and helped establish…

New Agreement Sees LU Partner Institution Flourish, Tackle Climate Change

December 16, 2020 Laurentian University is pleased to announce the signing of an Affiliation Agreement with the Climate Risk Insitute (CRI). CRI is a not-for-profit corporation focused on delivering services and advancing practice related to climate change risk assessment and adaptation planning through programs and projects that focus on mobilizing knowledge and building capacity. This agreement will enable a rich range of opportunities for collaboration, including student learning, research collaboration, and program development. This relationship will foster enhanced knowledge and understanding of climate change impacts through climate services founded on experience, expertise, science and local knowledge. Strengthening CRI’s links to an…

Climate Risk Institute shares more details on undertaking IRP Program

September 24, 2020 On July 7, 2020, Engineers Canada and the Climate Risk Institute (CRI) jointly announced that an agreement had been reached for CRI to assume ownership of the Infrastructure Resilience Professional (IRP) Program. The IRP Program is a series of courses for engineers on the topics of asset management, risk management, the Public Infrastructure Engineering Vulnerability Committee (PIEVC) Protocol, and climate change law. With ownership of the IRP Program having now been transferred to CRI, Engineers Canada reached out to CRI to discuss how the program fits in with their mandate, what they’ve been working on since assuming ownership in…