• About
    • Which Energy Mix is this?
  • Climate News Network Archive
  • Contact
The climate news that makes a difference.
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
  • Canada
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Mobility
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
  • Canada
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Mobility
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Mobility
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance
  FEATURED
REVEALED: Imperial Oil, Alberta Regulator Knew of Toxic Seepage at Kearl Mine for Years, Kept First Nation in the Dark October 3, 2023
Oil and Gas, Buildings Drive 2.1% Rise in Canada’s Climate Pollution October 2, 2023
Shell CEO Doubles Down on Renewable Cuts Despite Internal Pushback October 2, 2023
Leading Climate Models Underestimate Clean Energy Progress, Overstate Cost, Study Finds October 2, 2023
UAE Holds Major Oil and Gas Conference Before Hosting COP 28 Climate Summit October 2, 2023
Next
Prev

Floods, Droughts, Storms to Bring Canada $139B in Climate Damage Over 30 Years

August 31, 2022
Reading time: 4 minutes
Full Story: The Canadian Press @CdnPressNews
Primary Author: Mia Rabson @mrabson

Ryan L. C. Quan/Wikimedia Commons

Ryan L. C. Quan/Wikimedia Commons

16
SHARES
 

This story includes details on the impacts of climate change that may be difficult for some readers. If you are feeling overwhelmed by this crisis situation here is a list of resources on how to cope with fears and feelings about the scope and pace of the climate crisis.

Floods, droughts, and major storms that wash out highways, damage buildings and affect power grids could cost Canada’s economy C$139 billion over the next 30 years, a new climate-based analysis predicts.

  • Concise headlines. Original content. Timely news and views from a select group of opinion leaders. Special extras.
  • Everything you need, nothing you don’t.
  • The Weekender: The climate news you need.
Subscribe

The report, titled “Aquanomics,” was published Monday by GHD, a global engineering and architecture services firm, The Canadian Press reports.

GHD’s Canadian water lead Don Holland said there are lots of reports that count up insured losses and physical damage after major events like last fall’s atmospheric river in British Columbia.

“What this report does is actually takes into account the loss of economic productivity, the shocks to the system when it comes to supply chain prices, and all of that,” Holland said in an interview.

He pointed to the 2021 B.C. floods, which for a time cut off rail and highway links between the country’s biggest port in Vancouver and the rest of Canada. The disruption stressed supply chains already hampered by COVID-19, raising prices, slowing production in factories that couldn’t get parts, and leaving some shelves empty in grocery stores and other retailers.

“It had huge knock-on effects,” said Holland.

The report predicts manufacturing and distribution will take the biggest hit from water-related climate disasters between now and 2050—an estimated $64 billion in losses, or about 0.2% of the total manufacturing economy a year.

While droughts can restrict industrial production, floods and storms cause direct damage to buildings and machinery or take out power supplies, forcing factories into silence.

The derecho wind storm that ripped across southern and eastern Ontario in May damaged the power grid in Ottawa so badly that parts of the city were without electricity for more than two weeks, CP recalls.

Drought is often seen as only a real risk to agriculture, but extreme drought can be much wider-reaching. In Europe, near-record lows on the Rhine River might halt marine traffic along Europe’s most important shipping lane that links major ports in Belgium and the Netherlands to Germany and Switzerland.

Last week in China, a massive heat wave prompted the government to force some factories to close to ration power as low river levels cut power output at hydroelectric dams.

Governments in California, Nevada, Utah, and other parts of the western United States are enforcing water rationing in the midst of what some call the worst drought in more than a millennium.

Lake Mead, the biggest reservoir in the United States, is down to one-quarter of its capacity, with macabre results: at least five bodies have been located as the water receded, some of them believed to have drowned or been killed and left in the lake decades ago.

Retail and fast-moving consumer goods—heavily reliant on water-related infrastructure, and extremely exposed in the event of damage to supply routes—will be the second-most affected economic sector, with estimated losses around $26 billion between 2022 and 2050.

Water risk in the banking and insurance sector follow, with $21 billion in estimated losses, primarily because of disruptions to productivity and economic activity, as well as bigger insurance payouts.

Energy and utilities will face an estimated $14 billion in losses, either through direct damage to power grids and production plants, or reductions in power output at hydro dams and nuclear plants because of low water levels.

Agriculture is the fifth sector analyzed, and is estimated to lose about $4 billion over the next 28 years, also threatening food security.

The report looked at the economic effects of water disasters in seven other countries, including Australia, China, and the United States.

GHD says costly and massive infrastructure projects to protect against storms and floods are no longer the answer to make the economy more resilient, because time is of the essence. Smaller projects that can be done quickly, often utilizing nature itself, are likely the best choice, the report says.

The average temperature on Earth is already more than 1°C above pre-industrial times and the climate has already changed, leading to more frequent, severe storms and floods and wider, longer droughts.

The cost of those events is high.

The Emergency Event Database compiled by the Belgium-based Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters said economic losses in 2021 from drought, floods, and storms worldwide totalled US$224 billion, compared with an average of US$118 billion between 2001 and 2020.

GHD’s report says taking advantage of data systems and sensors to help predict problems before they arise can make a big difference.

For example, Holland said using sensors to look for signs of an impending water main break in a city can prevent massive losses of water, reduce damage, and ensure the pipes reach their maximum lifespan.

Holland said the report’s biggest message is “the magnitude of what we’re facing if we don’t get more resilient, if we don’t make our communities more resilient.”

“It’s really driving home, how water… touches every aspect of our lives and communities,” he told CP. “It truly does, in ways that we don’t know about.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published August 29, 2022.

Continue Reading



in Canada, China, Drought & Wildfires, Energy / Carbon Pricing & Economics, Finance & Investment, Food Security & Agriculture, Health & Safety, Heat & Power, Heat & Temperature, Hydropower, Nuclear, Severe Storms & Flooding, Sub-National Governments, Supply Chains & Consumption, UK & Europe, United States

The latest climate news and analysis, direct to your inbox

Subscribe

Related Posts

jasonwoodhead23/flickr
Tar Sands / Oil Sands

REVEALED: Imperial Oil, Alberta Regulator Knew of Toxic Seepage at Kearl Mine for Years, Kept First Nation in the Dark

October 3, 2023
147
Dawn Ellner/flickr
Carbon Levels & Measurement

Oil and Gas, Buildings Drive 2.1% Rise in Canada’s Climate Pollution

October 2, 2023
62
Ramon FVelasquez/Wikipedia
Finance & Investment

Shell CEO Doubles Down on Renewable Cuts Despite Internal Pushback

October 2, 2023
142

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Trending Stories

jasonwoodhead23/flickr

REVEALED: Imperial Oil, Alberta Regulator Knew of Toxic Seepage at Kearl Mine for Years, Kept First Nation in the Dark

October 3, 2023
147
Ramon FVelasquez/Wikipedia

Shell CEO Doubles Down on Renewable Cuts Despite Internal Pushback

October 2, 2023
142
Iota 9/Wikimedia Commons

‘Huge Loss’ for Local Green Economy as Vancouver Shutters Its Economic Commission

September 28, 2023
359
YouTube

UAE Holds Major Oil and Gas Conference Before Hosting COP 28 Climate Summit

October 3, 2023
75
Solarimo/pixabay

Leading Climate Models Underestimate Clean Energy Progress, Overstate Cost, Study Finds

October 2, 2023
261
Jon Sullivan/flickr

Thorold Gas Peaker Plant Won’t Be Built After Unanimous City Council Vote

September 21, 2023
880

Recent Posts

Dawn Ellner/flickr

Oil and Gas, Buildings Drive 2.1% Rise in Canada’s Climate Pollution

October 2, 2023
62
Northvolt plant in Sweden, Spisen/wikimedia commons

Quebec Lands $7B Battery Gigafactory Investment from Sweden’s Northvolt

October 2, 2023
62
GFDL/Wikimedia Commons

Clean Energy Funding Isn’t Just About Money, Policy Expert Warns

October 2, 2023
39
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/Wikimedia Commons

Climate Change Brings Rapid Ice Loss to Antarctica, Arctic, Swiss Glaciers

October 2, 2023
58
Duffins Agriculture Preserve/North Country House Media via Greenbelt Foundation

Green Space Groups Gear for Bigger Fights After Ontario Reverses Greenbelt Land Grab

September 28, 2023
221
DiscoverEganville/wikimedia commons

EV Rentals to Improve Transportation Access for Ontario Townships

September 28, 2023
82
Next Post
Bernard Spragg/flickr

Deadbeat Fossils Dodge Property Taxes Despite Record Profits, Rural Alberta Suffers

The Energy Mix - The climate news you need

Copyright 2023 © Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy and Copyright
  • Cookie Policy

Proudly partnering with…

scf_withtagline
The Energy Mix - Energy Central
No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Mobility
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance

Copyright 2022 © Smarter Shift Inc. and Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}