Transcript Adaptation - Canadian Public Health Association

CPHA Conference, Halifax.
Monday, June 2, 2008
WHY ADAPT?
A Critical Analysis of Climate
Change Adaptation Options for
Public Health in Canada
Mark Pajot, Masters in
Environmental Studies at
York U.
Why Adapt? A Critical Analysis of Climate Change Adaptation Options For Public Health in Canada.
“It is precisely in periods of crisis
that the relationship between the
parts and the whole appears most
clearly.”
Antonio Gramsci, 1954
CPHA Conference, Halifax.
Monday, June 2, 2008
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Why Adapt? A Critical Analysis of Climate Change Adaptation Options For Public Health in Canada.
Agenda
• WHY ADAPT?
– Brief snapshot of the climate crisis.
• HOW DO WE ADAPT?
– Climate change adaptation defined
– Examining the current bias towards the
risk management model of adaptation
– Expanding the role of adaptation to
reduce vulnerabilities not just respond to
impacts.
CPHA Conference, Halifax.
Monday, June 2, 2008
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Why Adapt? A Critical Analysis of Climate Change Adaptation Options For Public Health in Canada.
Snapshot of the Climate Crisis
“Warming of the climate system is unequivocal.”
(Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2007a)
Arguably the biggest threat to public health in Canada this century
Health impacts cause or are caused by:
• Direct effects¹:
–Extreme heat / cold;
–Extreme weather
(natural
hazards/emergencies);
–Increased flooding;
–Reduced air quality
• Indirect effects¹
–West nile virus;
–Lyme disease;
–Food contamination;
–Drinking / Beach water
contamination
–Ultraviolet radiation.
–Asthma / Allergies
–Increased rates of poverty /
food security²
–Mental Health³
• Catastrophic impacts 4
–Rapid sea level rise
–Ocean fisheries collapse
–Rapid methane release
¹ NRCan (2007) Canadian National Assessment.
² Stern,(2006); Homer-Dixon (2007)
³ Health Canada (2005)
4 UNEP (2007) “In Dead Water”. IPCC Fourth Assessment Report, (2007)
CPHA Conference, Halifax.
Monday, June 2, 2008
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Why Adapt? A Critical Analysis of Climate Change Adaptation Options For Public Health in Canada.
Snapshot of the Climate Crisis
Source :http://www.stopglobalwarming.com.au/images/future_forecasts/global_warming_carbon_dioxide_concentration.jpg
CPHA Conference, Halifax.
Monday, June 2, 2008
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Why Adapt? A Critical Analysis of Climate Change Adaptation Options For Public Health in Canada.
Snapshot of the Climate Crisis
New data (post
IPCC, 2007) lowers
the dangerous
threshold here
(Hansen, 2007)
CPHA Conference, Halifax.
Monday, June 2, 2008
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Why Adapt? A Critical Analysis of Climate Change Adaptation Options For Public Health in Canada.
Snapshot of the Climate Crisis
Vulnerable populations are most effected:
• 2003 heat wave in Europe, seniors hardest hit.
• Air quality impacts on the poor and racial minorities.
.Why
the injustice?
• Solutions (like mitigation efforts) must be compatible with
economic growth.
- Article 2 of the UNFCCC notes that stabilization of
greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere should
be achieved in a way that should “enable economic
development to proceed in a sustainable manner.
CPHA Conference, Halifax.
Monday, June 2, 2008
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Why Adapt? A Critical Analysis of Climate Change Adaptation Options For Public Health in Canada.
WHY ADAPT?
• Because at this point mitigation
efforts to reduce carbon causing
global warming are failing
• We are witnessing devastating
impacts now, especially on
vulnerable populations.
• So we have no other choice
CPHA Conference, Halifax.
Monday, June 2, 2008
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Why Adapt? A Critical Analysis of Climate Change Adaptation Options For Public Health in Canada.
HOW DO WE ADAPT?
“Adaptation will be necessary to address impacts resulting from warming
which is already unavoidable due to past emissions” (IPCC, 2007a)
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(2007) defines adaptation as “a process through which societies
make themselves better able to cope with an uncertain future.”
The IPCC propose three types of adaptation
1.
anticipatory,
2.
autonomous and,
3.
planned
Much focus is on planned adaptation (Pittock and Jones, 2000, Burton, 2006)
“Adaptation that is the result of a deliberate policy decision, based
on an
awareness that conditions have changed or are about to change
and
that action is required to return to, maintain, or achieve a desired
state.”
CPHA Conference, Halifax.
Monday, June 2, 2008
9
Why Adapt? A Critical Analysis of Climate Change Adaptation Options For Public Health in Canada.
HOW DO WE ADAPT?
“A surge in interest in impact-oriented action has been observed since the
beginning of the century, in contrast to efforts centred on prevention”
(Burton, 2002)
• Focuses on responding to the impacts of climate change and over
emphasizes the management of observed risks.
Example Include:
•
•
•
•
Air Quality Health Index,
Heat Health Alert Systems,
Sun Safety initiatives,
Physical infrastructure renewal
* Rather than sufficiently addressing the underlying factors that
cause vulnerability to it.
CPHA Conference, Halifax.
Monday, June 2, 2008
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Why Adapt? A Critical Analysis of Climate Change Adaptation Options For Public Health in Canada.
HOW DO WE ADAPT?
ELIMINATE
ENVIRONMENTAL
HAZARDS
REDUCE BARRIERS TO
EDUCATION, HEALTH CARE,
and SOCIAL SUPPORT
Reify The Spiritual, and Artistic
Source: http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/images/ipph_pyramid_phf_e.jpg
CPHA Conference, Halifax.
Monday, June 2, 2008
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Why Adapt? A Critical Analysis of Climate Change Adaptation Options For Public Health in Canada.
QUESTIONS?
Contact Information
Mark Pajot
York University
[email protected]
Peel Public Health
905-791-7800 ext. 2427
[email protected]
CPHA Conference, Halifax.
Monday, June 2, 2008
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