City of Waterloo Corporate Climate Adaptation Plan

The City of Waterloo will develop a Corporate Climate Adaptation Plan. The Plan will be scoped to the effects of climate change on the infrastructure, assets and services that are the direct responsibility of the City. The Plan will address both extreme events and incremental change. Based on the identification of impacts, an assessment of vulnerability and an assessment of risk, the Plan will set out adaptive actions to reduce vulnerability and risk, build resilience and take advantage of opportunities that will emerge as a result of climate change.The process to develop the Plan will follow ICLEI Canada’s “Changing Climate, Changing Communities” framework but will be tailored to the City’s needs. This framework provides a structured approach to adaptation planning, moving through a series of five milestones. Through the various milestones, impacts will be identified, vulnerability and risk assessments will be undertaken, goals and objectives will be set, actions will be identified and prioritized and implementation will be tracked.For the City, climate change is a challenge because of its inherent complexity and broad reaching implications. When the City’s infrastructure, assets and services are functioning, the community can go about its business. However, the impacts of climate change will result in operational disruptions and physical damage. Since climate change has the potential to affect nearly all of the City’s functions, adaptation planning is essential. Through adaptation planning, the City will increase its ability to absorb and respond to climatic events and trends, with the goal of reducing economic, social and environmental costs. In doing so, the city will ensure the well-being of the community.