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This paper tests for the applicability of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis at the Canadian and provincial/territorial levels using greenhouse gas emissions as an indicator for environmental degradation. The hypothesis is tested using provincial and territorial panel data from 1990 to 2014. The results vary depending on the econometric estimation method. The pooled regression results are mixed, with the EKC hypothesis confirmed at the Canadian level and in half of the provinces and territories. However, the fixed-effects regression results confirm the EKC hypothesis at the Canadian level and in all provinces and territories. The results also highlight the significance of technological change and province/territory specific characteristics in determining the level of greenhouse gas emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quebec's forests represent 20% of Canadian forests and 2% of the world forests. Over the entire planet, forests play a major role in habitat preservation and in supplying goods and services to the population. However, climate change will have an impact on the forest through inter alia increased droughts, forest fires, warmer weather, and infestations. In this paper, we analyze the economic impact of climate change on the forest industry in Quebec over a 40-year period using a recursive dynamic computable general equilibrium model. We find that the climate change effects will be relatively weak on most macroeconomic variables as agents adjust their behavior over time and factors are reallocated across sectors. We find that climate change could generate losses in gross domestic product of up to Can$300 million (0.12% of gross domestic product) at the end of a 40-year period for Quebec's economy. However, we find relatively more important effects within the sectors of the forest industry, with losses ranging from 3% to 7.5%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper identifies and characterizes current knowledge on climate change impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability for Canada's northern coastline, outlining key research gaps. Warming temperatures and increased precipitation have been documented across the northern coast, with the rate of sea ice decline ranging from 2.9% to 10.4% per decade. Storm intensity and frequency is increasing, and permafrost is warming across the region. Many of these changes are projected to accelerate in the future, with in excess of 8 °C warming in winter possible under a high-emission scenario by 2081-2100. Vulnerability to these changes differs by region and community, a function of geographic location, nature of climate change impacts, and human factors. Capacity to manage climate change is high in some sectors, such as subsistence harvesting, but is being undermined by long-term societal changes. In other sectors, such as infrastructure and transportation, limitations in climate risk management capacity result in continuing high vulnerabilities. There is evidence that adaptation is taking place in response to experienced and projected impacts, although readiness for adaptation is challenged by limited resources, institutional capacity, and a need for support for adaptation across levels of government. Priority areas for future research include ( i) expanding the sectoral and geographic focus of understanding on climate change impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability; ( ii) integrating climatic and socio-economic projections into vulnerability and adaptation assessments; ( iii) developing an evidence base on adaptation options; and ( iv) monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of adaptation support. Cross-cutting themes for advancing climate change impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability research on the north coast more broadly include the need for greater emphasis on interdisciplinary approaches and cross-cultural collaborations, support for decision-orientated research, and focus on effective knowledge mobilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the application of nitrogen (N) fertilizer increases crop productivity, the amount of N not taken up by the crop is released as reactive N causing adverse environmental effects, which are associated with short-term climate variations and consist of nitrous oxide emissions, ammonia volatilization, and nitrate leaching. Finding the optimum rate of N application accounting for both economic and environmental aspects is challenging because it varies according to soil texture and climatic conditions. In this paper, a model-based methodology is developed to identify the ecophysiological optimum N rates at which the applied N leads to minimum N excess with little loss in maximum achievable yield. A slope-based method is proposed to identify the optimum nitrogen use efficiency (NUE opt ) and to determine the corresponding optimum N rate (Nopt) for each growing season in given agroclimatic regions according to soil properties. It uses the yield predicted by a process-based crop model, long time series of climate data, and a newly proposed Mitscherlich Baule-plateau (MB-P) function. The NUE opt is identified by evaluating the linearity of the relationship between yield and N opt , and the reduction in yield compared to maximum achievable yield for a given soil and various growing seasons. We illustrate the methodology and its performance by presenting corn yield response to N rate applications predicted by the STICS crop model for dominant soils with contrasting properties with 48–61 years of daily climate data from five major regions located along an agroclimatic gradient of the Mixedwood Plains ecozone in Canada (42.3°N 83°W - 46.8°N 71°W), which is the main grain corn production ecozone of Canada. Our case study in this ecozone indicates that a newly proposed yield MB-P function outperforms the two commonly used functions, i.e., linear-plateau, and MB functions. The proposed methodology provides valuable information such as the likelihood of achieving a yield in a given region, the recommended N rate for given expected yield, the consequent N excess or deficit, and the reduction in yield compared to maximum achievable yield. The proposed methodology can be used in any region where a crop model has been adapted, and soil properties and time series of climate data are available. This approach sets the stage for an in-depth environmental assessment on reactive N within an integrated decision support system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses how 10 localities in the USA and England, recognised as leaders in clean energy and climate action, have used collaborative approaches to develop local climate change plans and energy conservation, efficiency, and renewable energy initiatives. It examines these planning and policy-making processes in the context of Margerum's [2008. A typology of collaboration efforts in environmental management.Environmental Management, 41 (4), 487–500] typology of “action”, “organizational”, and “policy-level” collaborations, as well as Gray's [1989.Collaborating: finding common ground for multiparty problems. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass] classification of collaboration in the “problem-setting”, “direction-setting”, and “implementation” phases. We conducted interviews with local elected officials, municipal staff, energy professionals, and citizen volunteers in each community, supplemented with an analysis of their adopted energy, climate change, and land-use plans. We find that despite the different government structures and political contexts between the two countries, there was a surprising amount of commonality in how the case study localities used collaborative planning to develop local climate plans and clean energy initiatives. These processes were most often initiated by local elected officials and/or high-level staff members, and then carried out in collaboration with local third-sector organisations and other community stakeholders. In the USA, collaboration was strongest at the policy level and in the direction-setting phase, with the distinguishing feature that citizen advisory boards or stakeholder working groups often took a more active role in shaping local plans and policies. The English localities had some of those same types of collaborations, but were more likely to also employ action collaboration, in the implementation phase, in which third-sector organisations coordinated with the locality to directly provide clean energy services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The boreal zone and its ecosystems provide numerous provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting services. Because of its resources and its hydroelectric potential, Canada's boreal zone is important to the country's resource-based economy. The region presently occupied by Canada's boreal zone has experienced dramatic changes during the past 3 million years as the climate cooled and repeated glaciations affected both the biota and the landscape. For about the past 7000 years, climate, fire, insects, diseases, and their interactions have been the most important natural drivers of boreal ecosystem dynamics, including rejuvenation, biogeochemical cycling, maintenance of productivity, and landscape variability. Layered upon natural drivers are changes increasingly caused by people and development and those related to human-caused climate change. Effects of these agents vary spatially and temporally, and, as global population increases, the demands and impacts on ecosystems will likely increase. Understanding how humans directly affect terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in Canada's boreal zone and how these effects and actions interact with natural disturbance agents is a prerequisite for informed and adaptive decisions about management of natural resources, while maintaining the economy and environment upon which humans depend. This paper reports on the genesis and present condition of the boreal zone and its ecosystems and sets the context for a detailed scientific investigation in subsequent papers published in this journal on several key aspects: carbon in boreal forests; climate change consequences, adaptation, and mitigation; nutrient and elemental cycling; protected areas; status, impacts, and risks of non-native species; factors affecting sustainable timber harvest levels; terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity; and water and wetland resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faced with increasing urbanization and uncertainties linked to climate change, the scientific community has integrated the concept of resilience into urban management practices. Once revolutionary, now a buzzword, resilience is a concept that is difficult to transform into an integrated tool that stakeholders accept and adopt. This paper offers a perspective on the different interpretations of resilience, its difficult implementation and the tools that seek to operationalize it. The underlying questions are how these tools are appropriated by urban managers and territorial decision-makers, and how the theoretical concept can be translated into resilient urban development. This research paper reviews the work on resilience and investigates its use and operationalization, comparing two different approaches – organizational (Canada) and holistic (France) – that aim to clarify and operationalize resilience. These theoretical approaches have been combined to create workshops for urban managers so they can move from theoretical results to practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate adaptation is a complex policy area, in which knowledge, authority, and resources are fragmented among numerous public agencies, multiple levels of government, and a wide range of nongovernmental actors. Mobilizing and coordinating disparate public and private efforts is a key challenge in this policy domain, and this has focused research attention on the governance of adaptation, including the dynamics of interaction among interests and the institutions that facilitate collective action. This paper contributes to the study of adaptation governance by adopting the policy regimes perspective, an analytical framework designed to make sense of the loose governing arrangements surrounding complex, fragmented problems. The perspective's constructs are applied to a longitudinal case study of adaptation governance in Canada, which identifies, analyzes, and evaluates the policy ideas, institutions, and interests that comprise Canada's adaptation policy regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The identification of homogeneous precipitation regions is essential in the planning, design and management of water resources systems. Regions are identified using a technique that partitions climate sites into groups based on the similarity of their attributes; the procedure is known as regionalization. In this paper the ability of four attribute sets to form large, coherent precipitation zones is assessed in terms of the regional homogeneity of precipitation statistics and computational efficiency. The outcomes provide guidance for effective attribute selection for future studies in Canada. The attributes under consideration include location parameters (latitude, longitude), distance to major water bodies, site elevation and atmospheric variables modelled at different pressure levels. The analysis is conducted in two diverse climate regions within Canada including the Prairie and the Great Lakes–St Lawrence lowlands regions. The method consists of four main steps: (i) formation of the attribute sets; (ii) determination of the preferred number of regions (selection of thec-value) into which the sites are partitioned; (iii) regionalization of climate sites using the fuzzyc-means clustering algorithm; and (iv) validation of regional homogeneity usingL-moment statistics. The results of the attribute formation,c-value selection, regionalization and validation processes are presented and discussed in a comparative analysis. Based on the results it is recommended for both regions to use location parameters including latitude, longitude and distance to water bodies (in the Great Lakes region) to form precipitation regions and to consider atmospheric variables for future (climate change) applications of the regionalization procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the context of sub-global participation in greenhouse gas mitigation efforts, this paper investigates the effectiveness of a Canada-U.S. emissions bubble under their existing regional trade agreement. It also explores the potential economic impact of carbon tariff harmonization through the implementation of a common Canada-U.S. external border tariff adjustment as a mean to address competitiveness issues. Using a multi-region, multi-sector computable general equilibrium model the paper finds that the creation of an emission bubble between the two countries could improve efficiency. The findings also suggest that a carbon tariff harmonization policy could give rise to distributional issues among Annex I regions and could fail to mitigate the negative competitiveness impacts of carbon abatement policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Injury is the leading cause of death for Canadians aged 1 to 44, occurring disproportionately across regions and communities. In the Inuit territory of Nunavut, for instance, unintentional injury rates are over three times the Canadian average. In this paper, we develop a framework for assessing vulnerability to injury and use it to identify and characterize the determinants of injuries on the land in Nunavut. We specifically examine unintentional injuries on the land (outside of hamlets) because of the importance of land-based activities to Inuit culture, health, and well-being. Semi-structured interviews (n = 45) were conducted in three communities that have varying rates of search and rescue (SAR), complemented by an analysis of SAR case data for the territory. We found that risk of land-based injuries is affected by socioeconomic status, Inuit traditional knowledge, community organizations, and territorial and national policies. Notably, by moving beyond common conceptualizations of unintentional injury, we are able to better assess root causes of unintentional injury and outline paths for prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explains the findings of the MC3 Project (Meeting the Climate Change Challenge). This project brought together over 100 researchers, practitioners, civil-society leaders, and policy-makers, led by researchers from Royal Roads University, Simon Fraser University, and the University of British Columbia, with 12 major research partners from the public and private sectors, including the Union of British Columbia municipalities. Researchers conducted a detailed evaluation of 11 leading, yet different, municipalities across the province to identify the leading innovators and innovations on climate action. The case studies revealed the following key drivers of innovation, in order of prominence: the legislative and policy framework, supported by provincially led incentives and tools, access to partnership funding and intermediary support, and framing the issue as critically important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The water content of wetlands represents a key driver of their hydrological services and it is highly dependent on short- and long-term weather conditions, which will change, to some extent, under evolving climate conditions. The impact on stream flows of this critical dynamic component of wetlands remains poorly studied. While hydrodynamic modelling provide a framework to describe the functioning of individual wetland, hydrological modelling offers the opportunity to assess their services at the watershed scale with respect to their type ( i.e. , isolated or riparian). This study uses a novel approach combining hydrological modelling and limited field monitoring, to explore the effectiveness of wetlands under changing climate conditions. To achieve this, two isolated wetlands and two riparian wetlands, located in the Becancour River watershed within the St Lawrence Lowlands (Quebec, Canada), were monitored using piezometers and stable water isotopes (δD – δ18O) between October 2013 and October 2014. For the watershed hydrology component of this study, reference (1986–2015) and future meteorological data (2041–2070) were used as inputs to the PHYSITEL/HYDROTEL modelling platform. Results obtained from in-situ data illustrate singular hydrological dynamics for each typology of wetlands ( i.e., isolated and riparian) and support the hydrological modelling approach used in this study. Meanwhile, simulation results indicate that climate change could affect differently the hydrological dynamics of wetlands and associated services ( e.g., storage and slow release of water), including their seasonal contribution ( i.e., flood mitigation and low flow support) according to each wetland typology. The methodological framework proposed in this paper meets the requirements of a functional tool capable of anticipating hydrological changes in wetlands at both the land management scale and the watershed management scale. Accordingly, this framework represents a starting point towards the design of effective wetland conservation and/or restoration programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This synthesis paper summarizes published proxy climate evidence showing the spatial and temporal pattern of climate change through the Holocene in Arctic Canada and Greenland. Our synthesis includes 47 records from a recently published database of highly resolved Holocene paleoclimate time series from the Arctic (Sundqvist et al., 2014). We analyze the temperature histories represented by the database and compare them with paleoclimate and environmental information from 54 additional published records, mostly from datasets that did not fit the selection criteria for the Arctic Holocene database. Combined, we review evidence from a variety of proxy archives including glaciers (ice cores and glacial geomorphology), lake sediments, peat sequences, and coastal and deep-marine sediments. The temperature-sensitive records indicate more consistent and earlier Holocene warmth in the north and east, and a more diffuse and later Holocene thermal maximum in the south and west. Principal components analysis reveals two dominant Holocene trends, one with early Holocene warmth followed by cooling in the middle Holocene, the other with a broader period of warmth in the middle Holocene followed by cooling in the late Holocene. The temperature decrease from the warmest to the coolest portions of the Holocene is 3.0 ± 1.0 °C on average (n = 11 sites). The Greenland Ice Sheet retracted to its minimum extent between 5 and 3 ka, consistent with many sites from around Greenland depicting a switch from warm to cool conditions around that time. The spatial pattern of temperature change through the Holocene was likely driven by the decrease in northern latitude summer insolation through the Holocene, the varied influence of waning ice sheets in the early Holocene, and the variable influx of Atlantic Water into the study region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While climate scientists have developed high resolution data sets on the distribution of climate risks, we still lack comparable data on the local distribution of public climate change opinions. This paper provides the first effort to estimate local climate and energy opinion variability outside the United States. Using a multi-level regression and post-stratification (MRP) approach, we estimate opinion in federal electoral districts and provinces. We demonstrate that a majority of the Canadian public consistently believes that climate change is happening. Belief in climate change’s causes varies geographically, with more people attributing it to human activity in urban as opposed to rural areas. Most prominently, we find majority support for carbon cap and trade policy in every province and district. By contrast, support for carbon taxation is more heterogeneous. Compared to the distribution of US climate opinions, Canadians believe climate change is happening at higher levels. This new opinion data set will support climate policy analysis and climate policy decision making at national, provincial and local levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate drives ecosystem processes and impacts biodiversity. Biodiversity patterns over large areas, such as Canada's boreal, can be monitored using indirect indicators derived from remotely sensed imagery. In this paper, we characterized the historical space–time relationships between climate and a suite of indirect indicators of biodiversity, known as the Dynamic Habitat Index (DHI) to identify where climate variability is co-occurring with changes in biodiversity indicators. We represented biodiversity using three indirect indicators generated from 1987 to 2007 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer images. By quantifying and clustering temporal variability in climate data, we defined eight homogeneous climate variability zones, where we then analyzed the DHI. Results identified unique areas of change in climate, such as the Hudson Plains, that explain significant variations in DHI. Past variability in temperatures and growing season index had a strong influence on observed vegetation productivity and seasonality changes throughout Canada's boreal. Variation in precipitation, for most of the area, was not associated with DHI changes. The methodology presented here enables assessment of spatial–temporal relationships between biodiversity and climate variability and characterizes distinctive zones of variation that may be used for prioritization and planning to ensure long-term biodiversity conservation in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This special issue of Canadian Journal of Sociology on 'Contentious Mobilities' showcases Canadian scholarship that investigates mobilities in the context of unequal power relations. Mobilities become contentious when they confront the systematic exclusion of others, advance unconventional mobile practices and defy or destabilize existing power relations. Increasingly, mobilities are contentious in relation to rapidly changing economies, societies and environments. This special issue stages an overdue encounter between the mobilities paradigm and research on sociopolitical contention. Simultaneously, this special issue addresses an empirical gap, featuring Canada as a prolific and influential site for leading-edge research. Five key themes emerge amongst the diverse papers in this issue: life and death, employment-related mobility, intersectionality/ in(visibility), governance, and automobility. Further, we identify five potential topics for Canadian mobilities, including climate change, disaster, technology and travel, the good city and methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper proceeds with a discussion of the interplay of scale and intensity in determining greenhouse gas emissions. This is followed by the presentation of several macroeconomic scenarios using LowGrow, a simulation model of the Canadian economy. The scenarios considered are ‘business as usual’ which is a projection into the future of past trends, ‘selective growth’ in which differential growth rates are applied to parts of the economy according to their direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions, and ‘degrowth’ where the average GDP/capita of Canadians is reduced towards a level more consistent with a world economy the size of which respects global environmental limits. The paper ends with a comparison of the scenarios. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper we describe sea ice change and variability during the Canadian International Polar Year (IPY) program and examine several regional and hemispheric causes of this change. In a companion paper (Barber et al., Climate Change) we present an overview of the consequences of this observed change and variability on ecosystem function, climatically relevant gas exchange, habitats of primary and apex predators, and impacts on northern peoples. Sea ice-themed research projects within the fourth IPY were designed to be among the most diverse international science programs. They greatly enhanced the exchange of Inuit knowledge and scientific ideas across nations and disciplines. This interdisciplinary and cultural exchange helped to explain and communicate the impacts of a transition of the Arctic Ocean and ecosystem to a seasonally ice-free state, the commensurate replacement of perennial with annual sea ice types and the causes and consequences of this globally significant metamorphosis. This paper presents a synthesis of scientific sea ice research and traditional knowledge results from Canadian-led IPY projects between 2007 and 2009. In particular, a summary of sea ice trends, basin-wide and regional, is presented in conjunction with Inuit knowledge of sea ice, gathered from communities in northern Canada. We focus on the recent observed changes in sea ice and discuss some of the causes of this change including atmospheric and oceanic forcing of both dynamic and thermodynamic forcing on the ice. Pertinent results include: 1) In the Amundsen Gulf, at the western end of the Northwest Passage, open water persists longer than normal and winter sea ice is thinner and more mobile. 2) Large areas of summer sea ice are becoming heavily decayed during summer and can be broken up by long-period waves being generated in the now extensive open water areas of the Chukchi Sea. 3) Cyclones play an important role in flaw leads-regions of open water between pack ice and land-fast ice. They delay the formation of new ice and the growth of multi-year ice. 4) Feedbacks involving the increased period of open water, long-period wave generation, increased open-ocean roughness, and the precipitation of autumn snow are all partially responsible for the observed reduction in multiyear sea ice. 5) The atmosphere is observed as remaining generally stable throughout the winter, preventing vertical entrainment of moisture above the surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In Part 1 of this paper, a carbonation model was developed and experimentally verified which was able to forecast carbonation depth of a concrete specimen considering varying ambient temperature, humidity and CO2 concentrations. Part 2 of the paper applies the carbonation diffusion/reaction model developed in Part 1 to predict the effects of global climate change on the carbonation of concrete. Climate scenarios were formulated and combined with the model for two major Canadian cities, Toronto and Vancouver. Results show that for undamaged and unstressed concrete, climate change will significantly affect carbonation progress. The model showed that for unloaded, non-pozzolanic concrete, ultimate carbonation depths in Toronto and Vancouver could be up to 45% higher. For in-service structures under load, the rates of deterioration are likely to be even faster. This is a cause for concern, and much further effort must be devoted to fully understand these phenomena. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

One of the most significant positive approaches to the politics of climate change on the scale required by the problem is that of Giddens. This paper uncovers weaknesses in his argument and reveals motivational divergence for mitigation and energy security in both Canada and New Zealand, which is opposite to what occurred in Northern Europe that provided the basis for his analysis. This suggests that the response to climate change varies according to deeper cultural and geophysical structures. The paper also examines cost(risk)-benefit analysis versus the precautionary principle, the directionality of political-economic convergence with mitigation, and political partisanship concerning climate change. It documents the complexity of making near-term economic opportunities converge with mitigation of distant harm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multilevel governance poses several challenges for the politics of climate change. On the one hand, the unequal distribution of power and interests can serve as a barrier to implementing coherent policy at a federal level. On the other, these features also enable policy leadership among sub-federal units. In the context of wide variation in climate policy at both national and sub-federal levels in Canada and in the United States, this paper utilizes an original data set to examine public attitudes and perceptions toward climate science and climate change policy in two federal systems. Drawing on national and provincial/state level data from telephone surveys administered in the United States and in Canada, the paper provides insight into where the public stands on the climate change issue in two of the most carbon-intensive federal systems in the world. The paper includes the first directly comparable public opinion data on how Canadians and Americans form their opinions regarding climate matters and provides insight into the preferences of these two populations regarding climate policies at both the national and sub-federal levels. Key findings are examined in the context of growing policy experiments at the sub-federal level in both countries and limited national level progress in the adoption of climate change legislation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores Canada's approach to water governance. It argues that fragmented governance has had negative impacts on Canada's ability to manage water resources adequately (particularly in the context of urbanization, agriculture and resource extraction), and to deal with new issues (such as climate change). Further, it argues that Canada's highly decentralized approach to water governance creates challenges of integration, coordination and data availability. The paper explores possible future strategies for innovations in water governance that may have the potential to improve water management outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the paradoxical issues surrounding long-distance tourism to view polar bears, a form of tourism which is disproportionately (on a per capita basis) responsible for greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions that are negatively affecting survival chances of the species. It also notes that the phenomenon of “last chance tourism” is influencing more tourists to visit the region. The paper describes and explains the evidence that climate change is causing a substantial reduction in sea ice, vital for Arctic wildlife species survival, particularly mega fauna, such as polar bears. Churchill, Canada is one of the few places where tourists can easily view polar bears. A total of 334 on-site tourist surveys and 18 in-depth interviews were conducted to help evaluate tourist perceptions of climate change and to estimate their GHG emissions related to polar bear viewing tourism. Polar bear viewing tourists perceive climate change to be negatively impacting polar bears but do not necessarily understand how they themselves contribute to GHG emissions, or understand offsetting possibilities. The polar bear viewing industry is estimated to contribute 20,892 t/CO2 per season. Mitigation strategies, including reduction and offsetting programs are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on climate change policy and politics has become increasingly focused on the actions and influence of subnational governments. In North America, this attention has been particularly focused on why subnational governments have taken action in the absence of national leadership, what effect action might have on future national climate policy, and whether the collective action of networks of municipal governments are reshaping and challenging the character of national and global climate governance. This paper examines Canadian municipal climate in light of the absence of a comprehensive and effective climate national strategy. The paper considers various reasons why local governments in Canada have not been central players in national plans, and why their actions have not been more influential nationally. The paper argues that the potential influence of Canadian municipalities on national climate policy is weak, given the loose nature of the network and the long-held structural view that municipalities are not significant units of political analysis in national political and policy debates. The paper concludes by considering the constraints and opportunities of subnational climate networks and municipal network analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Critical geographers have paid remarkably scant attention to issues of climate change, even less so to forest carbon management policy. Building on geographic debate concerning the ontological production of nature and race, this paper argues that at stake in the climate change debate are not simply questions of energy geopolitics or green production. Also at issue in the climate debate are powerful questions of identity, the national form and race. This paper considers how a particular slice of the climate debate – forest carbon management discourse pertaining to Canada's boreal forest – enacts a political geography of racial difference, one that seeks to accommodate an imagined mode of traditional aboriginal life to the exigencies of global climate change mitigation and, importantly, to a logic of global capital now well into its ecological phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Climate change has a significant impact on population health. Population vulnerabilities depend on several determinants of different types, including biological, psychological, environmental, social and economic ones. Surveillance of climate-related health vulnerabilities must take into account these different factors, their interdependence, as well as their inherent spatial and temporal aspects on several scales, for informed analyses. Currently used technology includes commercial off-the-shelf Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Database Management Systems with spatial extensions. It has been widely recognized that such OLTP (On-Line Transaction Processing) systems were not designed to support complex, multi-temporal and multiscale analysis as required above. On-Line Analytical Processing (OLAP) is central to the field known as BI (Business Intelligence), a key field for such decision-support systems. In the last few years, we have seen a few projects that combine OLAP and GIS to improve spatio-temporal analysis and geographic knowledge discovery. This has given rise to SOLAP (Spatial OLAP) and a new research area. This paper presents how SOLAP and climate-related health vulnerability data were investigated and combined to facilitate surveillance. Results: Based on recent spatial decision-support technologies, this paper presents a spatiotemporal web-based application that goes beyond GIS applications with regard to speed, ease of use, and interactive analysis capabilities. It supports the multi-scale exploration and analysis of integrated socio-economic, health and environmental geospatial data over several periods. This project was meant to validate the potential of recent technologies to contribute to a better understanding of the interactions between public health and climate change, and to facilitate future decision-making by public health agencies and municipalities in Canada and elsewhere. The project also aimed at integrating an initial collection of geo-referenced multi-scale indicators that were identified by Canadian specialists and end-users as relevant for the surveillance of the public health impacts of climate change. This system was developed in a multidisciplinary context involving researchers, policy makers and practitioners, using BI and web-mapping concepts (more particularly SOLAP technologies), while exploring new solutions for frequent automatic updating of data and for providing contextual warnings for users (to minimize the risk of data misinterpretation). According to the project participants, the final system succeeds in facilitating surveillance activities in a way not achievable with today's GIS. Regarding the experiments on frequent automatic updating and contextual user warnings, the results obtained indicate that these are meaningful and achievable goals but they still require research and development for their successful implementation in the context of surveillance and multiple organizations.… [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canadian municipalities have direct or indirect control or influence over approximately 52% of greenhouse gas emissions. As early as 1988, some Canadian municipalities embraced the challenge of climate change and through municipal programs recorded emissions reductions. Given the recent publication of the Government of Canada's climate change plan which clearly emphasizes a prominent role for municipalities in meeting greenhouse gas emission reductions, and equally, the federal government's declared intent to provide further financial support to cities and communities through its ‘New Deal for Cities and Communities’, it is important to consider the potential role that Canadian municipalities can take in responding to climate change, and most importantly, the barriers they face in responding. Based on these observations, this paper presents evidence from a survey of 392 Canadian municipalities (all municipalities with populations of more than 10,000 people) conducted between the summer of 1998 and spring of 1999. The survey provides information on a key issue, which despite the date of the survey remains centrally relevant today: barriers to Canadian municipal response. Building on both quantitative and qualitative results from the survey data and updated information on the number of municipalities participating in Federation of Canadian Municipality (FCM) climate change programs, the paper concludes with recommendations as to how municipal capacity to respond to climate change can be increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The MacKenzie Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX) Study, Phase 1, seeks to improve understanding of energy and water cycling in the Mackenzie River basin (MRB) and to initiate and test atmospheric, hydrologic, and coupled models that will project the sensitivity of these cycles to climate change and to human activities. Major findings from the study are outlined in this paper. Absorbed solar radiation is a primary driving force of energy and water, and shows dramatic temporal and spatial variability. Cloud amounts feature large diurnal, seasonal, and interannual fluctuations. Seasonality in moisture inputs and outputs is pronounced. Winter in the northern MRB features deep thermal inversions. Snow hydrological processes are very significant in this high-latitude environment and are being successfully modeled for various landscapes. Runoff processes are distinctive in the major terrain units, which is important to overall water cycling. Lakes and wetlands compose much of MRB and are prominent as hydrologic storage systems that must be incorporated into models. Additionally, they are very efficient and variable evaporating systems that are highly sensitive to climate variability. Mountainous high-latitude subbasins comprise a mosaic of land surfaces with distinct hydrological attributes that act as variable source areas for runoff generation. They also promote leeward cyclonic storm generation. The hard rock terrain of the Canadian Shield exhibits a distinctive energy flux regimen and hydrologic regime. The MRB has been warming dramatically recently, and ice breakup and spring outflow into the Polar Sea has been occurring progressively earlier. This paper presents initial results from coupled atmospheric–hydrologic modeling and delineates distinctive cold region inputs needed for developments in regional and global climate modeling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A variety of evidence suggests that the boreal forests of Canada are responding to climate change. Specifically, several studies have inferred that widespread browning trends detected in time series of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) reflect the response of boreal forests to longer growing seasons, increased summer drought stress, and higher frequency of fires. Data from the Thematic Mapper (TM5) and Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) sensors onboard Landsat 5 and 7, respectively, span essentially the same time period as the AVHRR record, but provide data with substantially higher radiometric and spatial fidelity, and by extension, a much improved basis for evaluating decadal-scale trends in spectral vegetation indices such as the NDVI. However, detection of trends, which are often subtle, requires careful attention to ensure that artifacts associated with the quality and stability of inter- and intra-sensor calibration do not lead to spurious conclusions in results from time series analyses. In this paper, we use time series of TM5 and ETM+ images for fifteen sites distributed across the Canadian boreal forest zone to explore if and how sensor geometry and inter- and intra-sensor calibration affect trends in spectral vegetation indices derived from multi-decadal Landsat time series. To do this, we created annual cloud-free composites for each Landsat spectral band based on peak summer NDVI at each site from 1984 to 2011 using all available TM5 and ETM+ data. To distinguish trends arising from long term climate change from those related to disturbance, we isolated areas within each site that were undisturbed during the Landsat record, and used these locations to analyze sources of variance in time series of red reflectance, near-infrared (NIR) reflectance, the NDVI, and the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI). Our results highlight the challenges involved in distinguishing trends in surface properties from data artifacts caused by undetected atmospheric effects, changes in sensor view angles, and subtle radiometric differences between the TM5 and ETM+ sensors. In particular, differences in sensor view geometry across adjacent overlapping Landsat scenes cause vegetated pixels in the eastern portion of Landsat scenes to have higher reflectances in the red and NIR bands (by 5 and 6 percent, respectively) than pixels in the western portion of scenes. While this effect does not significantly change NDVI values, it does affect EVI values. We also found modest, but potentially significant, differences between the red band reflectance of each sensor, with TM5 data having 14 percent higher red reflectance on average for vegetated pixels, which can introduce spurious trends in time series that combine TM5 and ETM+ data. More generally, the results from this work demonstrate that while the 30 + year Landsat archive provides unprecedented opportunities for studying changes to the Earth's terrestrial biosphere over the last three decades, care must be taken when inferring trends in these data without considering how sources of variance unrelated to surface processes affect the integrity of Landsat time series. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osborne, P.D. and Forest, A., 2016. Sediment dynamics from coast to slope - Southern Canadian Beaufort Sea. In: Vila-Concejo, A.; Bruce, E.; Kennedy, D.M., and McCarroll, R.J. (eds.), Proceedings of the 14th International Coastal Symposium (Sydney, Australia). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue, No. 75, pp. 537-541. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Profound changes in cross-shelf sediment fluxes are anticipated in coming decades in the southern Canadian Beaufort Sea where an accelerated increase in temperature could lead to large changes in Arctic river hydrology and coastal-marine geomorphologic processes. In the past decade sediment exported to the Beaufort Shelf has increased while sea level pressure has increased accelerating the Beaufort Gyre, strengthening coastal upwelling and expanding the Mackenzie River plume offshore. Sea-ice extent has decreased while storminess has increased increasing wave action, coastal downwelling, current surge and resuspension and transport on the shoreface and shelf. This paper investigates mechanisms, quantities and rates of sediment transport operating in this cold continental shelf-slope environment. Past studies from more than 2 decades of research are compared with recent measurements to develop improved estimates of sediment sources, pathways, fate and fluxes across the shelf and slope. In particular, we explore connections between data from a long term mooring observatory deployed over the continental shelf and slope during the ArcticNet-Industry Partnership (2009-2011) and Beaufort Regional Environmental Assessment (BREA 2011-2015) to those acquired in studies focusing on nearshore and shoreface. Sediment fluxes from the Mackenzie River and erosion of permafrost coasts are compared with outer shelf-slope measurements of settling particles and near-bottom fluxes. In turn, the role of atmospheric and cryospheric processes in forcing sediment transfer from coast to slope is investigated to assess system response to changing climate and evaluate implications for marine hydrocarbon resource development along the continental margin of the Arctic Ocean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Across the southern Canadian Prairies, annual precipitation is relatively low (200–400 mm) and periodic water deficits limit economic and environmental productivity. Rapid population growth, economic development and climate change have exposed this region to increasing vulnerability to hydrologic drought. There is high demand for surface water, streamflow from the Rocky Mountains in particular. This paper describes the application of dendrohydrology to water resource management in this region. Four projects were initiated by the sponsoring organizations: a private utility, an urban municipality and two federal government agencies. The fact that government and industry would initiate and fund tree-ring research indicates that practitioners recognize paleohydrology as a legitimate source of technical support for water resource planning and management. The major advantage of tree-rings as a proxy of annual and seasonal streamflow is that the reconstructions exceed the length of gauge records by at least several centuries. The extent of our network of 180 tree-ring chronologies, spanning AD 549–2013 and ∼20° of latitude, with a high density of sites in the headwaters of the major river basins, enables us to construct large ensembles of tree-ring reconstructions as a means of expressing uncertainty in the inference of streamflow from tree rings. We characterize paleo-droughts in terms of modern analogues, translating the tree-ring reconstructions from a paleo-time scale to the time frame in which engineers and planners operate. Water resource managers and policy analysts have used our paleo-drought scenarios in their various forms to inform and assist drought preparedness planning, a re-evaluation of surface water apportionment policy and an assessment of the reliability of urban water supply systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is a likely addition to the unpredictable challenges urban communities will face. Enhancing urban forests has gained prominence as a climate adaptation tool in cities. The fact that urban forests are also vulnerable is now starting to emerge. Many urban forest management professionals do not know how to take climate change into account and what aspects of urban forest vulnerability to climate change to prioritize. Bringing climate change to the forefront of the decision-making process in urban forest management, and urban forests to the forefront of urban climate issues, is important to urban forest success. This paper presents an exploratory assessment of vulnerability to climate change in the Canadian urban forests of Halifax, London, and Saskatoon. The objectives of the assessment were to: 1) identify the elements of urban forest exposure and sensitivity to climate change, the nature of the expected impact, and the adaptive capacities that exist in these three urban forests; 2) assess which of these elements contributes more to urban forest vulnerability to climate change; and, 3) elicit adaptive strategies based on this information. The method used was participatory and expert-based and allowed for a systematic evaluation of vulnerability. Exposures related to drought, heat stress, and wind, susceptibility of urban trees to insects and diseases, and the sensitivity of young trees and tree species with specific temperature and moisture requirements, are the main concerns regarding the vulnerability of urban forests to climate change in these three cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate estimation of greenhouse gas emissions and detailed monitoring of the carbon cycle are important for mitigation of and adaptation to climate change. On agricultural land, annual herbaceous vegetation is not considered a carbon sink, whereas perennial woody vegetation accumulates biomass over multiple years and does represent a carbon sink. This paper presents a study to estimate aboveground woody carbon stock in 1990 and its annual change from 1990 to 2000 on Canada’s cropland. The cropland was stratified into zones according to soils, climate and cropping systems, within which sample plots were randomly selected and paired aerial photographs corresponding to circa 1990 and 2000 were interpreted to detect changes in perennial woody vegetation such as trees, shrubs, orchards and vineyards. Woody biomass volumes lost as a result of land use change and gained as a result of planting and growth were estimated using species composition and growth rates typical of each zone, as obtained from published literature, forest reports and charts and forestry expert knowledge. Census of agriculture data was used to scale up the sample level results to zone and national levels. Results showed that on Canada’s cropland, the aboveground woody carbon stock in 1990 was 33.7 ± 8.8 Tg. Between 1990 and 2000, the area covered by woody vegetation was affected negatively by removals and positively through planting and natural regeneration, leading to a net reduction in area. There was an annual increase of about 78.3 Gg over all cropland in Canada, with a net decrease in some ecozones. Although this is a comparatively small increase with a large uncertainty, it indicates that changes in woody carbon on cropland in Canada over the 1990–2000 period were relatively insignificant. Further studies may be needed to refine the carbon estimates and reduce uncertainties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the literature on Indigenous health, human dimensions of climate change, and place-based dimensions of health by examining the role of environment for Inuit health in the context of a changing climate. We investigated the relationship between one key element of the environment – sea ice – and diverse aspects of health in an Inuit community in northern Canada, drawing on population health and health geography approaches. We used a case study design and participatory and collaborative approach with the community of Nain in northern Labrador, Canada. Focus groups (n = 2), interviews (n = 22), and participant observation were conducted in 2010–11. We found that an appreciation of place was critical for understanding the full range of health influences of sea ice use for Inuit. Negative physical health impacts were reported on less frequently than positive health benefits of sea ice use, which were predominantly related to mental/emotional, spiritual, social, and cultural health. We found that sea ice means freedom for sea ice users, which we suggest influences individual and collective health through relationships between sea ice use, culture, knowledge, and autonomy. While sea ice users reported increases in negative physical health impacts such as injuries and stress related to changing environmental conditions, we suggest that less tangible climate change impacts related to losses of health benefits and disruptions to place meanings and place attachment may be even more significant. Our findings indicate that climate change is resulting in and compounding existing environmental dispossession for Inuit. They also demonstrate the necessity of considering place meanings, culture, and socio-historical context to assess the complexity of climate change impacts on Indigenous environmental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both climate and land use changes can influence water quality and quantity in different ways. Thus, for predicting future water quality and quantity trends, simulations should ideally account for both projected climate and land use changes. In this paper, land use projections and climate change scenarios were integrated with a hydrological model to estimate the relative impact of climate and land use projections on a suite of water quality and quantity endpoints for a Canadian watershed. Climatic time series representing SRES change scenario A2 were generated by downscaling the outputs of the Canadian Regional Climate Model (version 4.1.1) using a combination of quantile–quantile transformation and nearest neighbor search. The SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) model was used to simulate streamflow, nitrogen and phosphorus loading under different climate and land use scenarios. Results showed that a) climate change will drive up maximum monthly streamflow, nitrate loads, and organic phosphorus loads, while decreasing organic nitrogen and nitrite loads; and b) land use changes were found to drive the same water quality/quantity variables in the same direction as climate change, except for organic nitrogen loads, for which the effects of the two stressors had a reverse impact on loading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fire regimes are strongly related to weather conditions that directly and indirectly influence fire ignition and propagation. Identifying the most important meteorological fire drivers is thus fundamental for daily fire risk forecasting. In this context, several fire weather indices have been developed focussing mainly on fire-related local weather conditions and fuel characteristics. The specificity of the conditions for which fire danger indices are developed makes its direct transfer and applicability problematic in different areas or with other fuel types. In this paper we used the low-to-intermediate fire-prone region of Canton Ticino as a case study to develop a new daily fire danger index by implementing a niche modelling approach (Maxent). In order to identify the most suitable weather conditions for fires, different combinations of input variables were tested (meteorological variables, existing fire danger indices or a combination of both). Our findings demonstrate that such combinations of input variables increase the predictive power of the resulting index and surprisingly even using meteorological variables only allows similar or better performances than using the complex Canadian Fire Weather Index (FWI). Furthermore, the niche modelling approach based on Maxent resulted in slightly improved model performance and in a reduced number of selected variables with respect to the classical logistic approach. Factors influencing final model robustness were the number of fire events considered and the specificity of the meteorological conditions leading to fire ignition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyses of climate change and the forest sector have identified the importance of individual actors, institutions, and organizations within communities for effective adaption and climate mitigation. Yet, there remains little recognition of how the internal dynamics of these institutions and organizations are influenced by gender and other social considerations such as age and culture. Research from developing countries and cognate resource sectors suggests that these considerations are critical for enhancing local adaptive capacity. Despite extensive review of forestry research across North America and western Europe, we found almost no research that addresses how differential social capabilities within forest-based communities affect adaptation to climate change. In this paper, we document the potential that gender sensitivity might provide to conceptions and practical applications of adaptive capacity and identify four types of research opportunities to address this gap: ( i) developing disaggregated capitals frameworks; ( ii) creating inclusive models; ( iii) informing social planning; and ( iv) understanding gender mainstreaming. Research focused on these opportunities, among others, will provide more robust theoretical understanding of adaptive capacity and strategic interventions necessary for effective adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Storm surges and waves are key climate-driven parameters affecting the design and operation of ports and other infrastructure on the coast. Reliable predictions of future storm surges and waves are not yet available for the west coast of Canada, and this data gap hinders effective climate risk assessment, planning and adaptation. This paper presents numerical simulations of storm surges and waves in British Columbia coastal waters under a future climate (Representative Concentration Pathway) scenario (RCP8.5). The numerical models were first forced by wind and surface pressure fields from the ERA-5 global reanalysis, and calibrated and validated using historical wave and water level records. The models were then driven by atmospheric data from four regional climate models (RCMs) to investigate potential changes in the frequency and magnitude of storm surges and extreme waves over the 21st century. The model outputs were analyzed to determine the potential impacts of climate change on storm surges and wave effects at key ports and transportation assets in western Canada. The study is the first of its kind to utilize unstructured, computational models to simulate storm surges and waves for the entire western Canada coastal region, while maintaining the high spatial resolution in coastal sub-basins needed to capture local dynamic responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A major achievement in research supported by the Kluane Lake Research Station was the recovery, in 2001 - 02, of a suite of cores from the icefields of the central St. Elias Mountains, Yukon, by teams of researchers from Canada, the United States, and Japan. This project led to the development of parallel, long (10³ - 104 year) ice-core r ecords of climate and atmospheric change over an altitudinal range of more than 2 km, from the Eclipse Icefield (3017 m) to the ice-covered plateau of Mt. Logan (5340 m). These efforts built on earlier work recovering single ice cores in this region. Comparison of these records has allowed for variations in climate and atmospheric composition to be linked with changes in the vertical structure and dynamics of the North Pacific atmosphere, providing a unique perspective on these changes over the Holocene. Owing to their privileged location, cores from the St. Elias Icefields also contain a remarkably detailed record of aerosols from various sources around or across the North Pacific. In this paper we review major scientific findings from the study of St. Elias Mountain ice cores, focusing on five main themes: (1) The record of stable water isotopes (δ18O, δD), which has unique characteristics that differ from those of Greenland, other Arctic ice cores, and even among sites in the St. Elias; (2) the snow accumulation history; (3) the record of pollen, biomass burning aerosol, and desert dust deposition; (4) the record of long-range air pollutant deposition (sulphate and lead); and (5) the record of paleo-volcanism. Our discussion draws on studies published since 2000, but based on older ice cores from the St. Elias Mountains obtained in 1980 and 1996. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale Intersectoral action (ISA) has been at the forefront of public health policy discussions since the 1970s. ISA incorporates a broader perspective of public health issues and coordinates efforts to address the social, political, economic and environmental contexts from which health determinants operate and are created. Despite being forwarded as a useful way to address and treat complex or 'wicked' problems, such policy issues are still often addressed within, rather than across, disciplinary silos and ISA has been documented to fail more often than it succeeds. Aims and objectives This paper contributes to an understanding of ISA by outlining and applying critical systems heuristics (CSH) theory and methods. Methods CSH theory and methods are described and discussed before applying them to the example of addressing climate change and health equity through public health practice. Results CSH thinking provides useful tools to engage stakeholders, question relations of power that may exist between collaborating partners, and move beyond power inequalities that guide ISA initiatives. Conclusions CSH is a compelling framing that can improve an understanding of the collaborative relationships that are a prerequisite for engaging in ISA to address complex or 'wicked' policy problems such as climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares three existing Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) formulations for simulating summer moisture variability in western Canada and a preliminary analysis of climate change impacts on summer moisture anomalies. The three models considered are Palmer's original algorithm (orPDSI), the self-calibrating PDSI (scPDSI), and a version modified for Canadian Prairie conditions (cpPDSI). In all formulations, potential evapotranspiration was parameterized by the Penman-Monteith method instead of the traditional Thornthwaite method. The scPDSI was used as a benchmark for evaluation as it is more appropriate for comparing drought severity of diverse climates. The results confirm that orPDSI produces inflated drought statistics as compared to scPDSI, whereas cpPDSI produced more conservative drought statistics than scPDSI. On the basis of results from scPDSI, historical moisture availability in the Canadian Prairies has shown a significant downward trend since 1950 at the 5% level, whereas southern British Columbia has shown a significant increasing trend. No discernible trend was found in the northern parts of the study area. These results were corroborated by trends in annual precipitation and summer temperature over the respective regions. When scPDSI parameters were calibrated using historical climate data, simulations for the 2050s using climate change scenarios from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report (IPCC AR4) showed increases in summer moisture deficit relative to the 1961-90 baseline. However, projecting the extent to which the frequency of extreme drought and/or wet spell categories will change is not trivial since the computation of scPDSI is tied to the definition of the frequency of extreme events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the Web of Science Core Collection databases from 1990 to 2018, a scientometric analysis of 1,284 academic works related to forest carbon sequestration is carried out to characterize the intellectual landscape by identifying and revealing the basic characteristics, research power, intellectual base and research hotspots in this field. The results of this work show that: ① the number of publications in forest carbon sequestration research has increased rapidly and the research in this field is in its "growth stage"; Forest Ecology and Management is the most productive journal and Forestry is the most popular subject category; ② the most productive authors and institutions in this subject area are in the USA, China and Canada, with the Chinese Academy of Sciences being the key institution performing such research; ③ in the sample, 9 papers have played a key role in the evolution of the field and laid a solid foundation for future research; ④ Keyword clustering analysis showed that the main research topics in the domain of forest carbon sequestration could be summarized as: (a) temperate forest; (b) forest management; (c) uncertainty analysis; (d) forest floor; (e) REDD; (f) net primary productivity. Meanwhile, keyword bursts analysis showed that the new research hotspots or research frontiers mainly concentrated on changes in the carbon storage and carbon sequestration potential of secondary forests and tropical forests, plant litter carbon storage and contribution to total ecosystem carbon storage, and new national forest inventories (NFIs). Through in-depth analysis of forest carbon sequestration research, this paper provides a better understanding of development trends that have emerged in this field over the past 29 years, which can also offer reference for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of climate change (CC) is affecting and changing the development of the natural environment, biological species, and human society. In order to better understand the influence of climate change and provide convincing evidence, the need to quantify the impact of climate change is urgent. In this paper, a climate change model is constructed by using a radial basis function (RBF) neural network. To verify the relevance between climate change and extreme weather (EW), the EW model was built using a support vector machine. In the case study of Canada, its level of climate change was calculated as being 0.2241 ("normal"), and it was found that the factors of CO2 emission, average temperature, and sea surface temperature are significant to Canada's climate change. In 2025, the climate level of Canada will become "a little bad" based on the prediction results. Then, the Pearson correlation value is calculated as being 0.571, which confirmed the moderate positive correlation between climate change and extreme weather. This paper provides a strong reference for comprehensively understanding the influences brought about by climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coastal fishery systems in the Arctic are undergoing rapid change. This paper examines the ways in which Inuit fishers experience and respond to such change, using a case study from Pangnirtung, Canada. The work is based on over two years of fieldwork, during which semi-structured interviews (n = 62), focus group discussions (n = 6, 31 participants) and key informant interviews (n = 25) were conducted. The changes that most Inuit fishers experience are: changes in sea-ice conditions, Inuit people themselves, the landscape and the seascape, fish-related changes, and changes in weather conditions, markets and fish selling prices. Inuit fishers respond to change individually as well as collectively. Fishers' responses were examined using the characteristics of a resilience-based conceptual framework focusing on place, human agency, collective action and collaboration, institutions, indigenous and local knowledge systems, and learning. Based on results, this paper identified three community-level adaptive strategies, which are diversification, technology use and fisheries governance that employs a co-management approach. Further, this work recognised four place-specific attributes that can shape community adaptations, which are Inuit worldviews, Inuit-owned institutions, a culture of sharing and collaborating, and indigenous and local knowledge systems. An examination of the ways in which Inuit fishers experience and respond to change is essential to better understand adaptations to climate change. This study delivers new insights to communities, scientists, and policymakers to work together to foster community adaptation. • Assesses adaptation to climate change in fisheries communities. • Examines how indigenous fishers experience and respond to change. • Climate change creates multiple changes in Arctic fisheries systems. • Diversification, technology, and co-management are three adaptive strategies. • Worldviews, institutions, culture, and knowledge systems can shape adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through tests conducted at the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority's (TRCA) Archetype Sustainable Houses, a hybrid residential space heating system with a supervisory controller was monitored and studied to evaluate its performance and effectiveness for the heating season. A high efficiency natural gas furnace (NGF) and an electric air source heat pump (ASHP) were coupled together to meet the space heating demand of the house. This integrated system is called the cloud based Smart Dual Fuel Switching System (SDFSS) that considers time-of-use (TOU) pricing, fuel cost, short-term weather forecast, and equipment efficiencies and capacities. This multi-variable decision-making process defines an optimal schedule for the hybrid system to run more cost effectively. This paper analyses two separate SDFSSs. According to these analyses, the SDFSS systems showed lower operating cost with respect to the furnace or the ASHP system alone with various carbon tax (CT) levels from $0 to $250/tonne of CT with an increment of $10/tonne of CT that were simulated, along with a significant GHG emission reduction relative to the conventional heating systems. Furthermore, with these technologies, Canada's residential sector could potentially meet Canada's Paris Agreement goals. The SDFSS technology is a is flexible, user friendly, ubiquitous technology for the smooth transition from today's natural gas dominated space heating system to the future's low carbon infrastructure powered by a heat pump and renewable energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Climate change has been described as the biggest global health threat of the 21st century. Typically framed as an environmental issue, some suggest this view has contributed to public ambivalence and hence a lack of public engagement. The lack of understanding of climate change as a significant environmental health risk on the part of the lay public represents a significant barrier to behaviour change. We therefore need to think about reframing the impact of climate change from an environmental to a health issue. This paper builds on calls for increased understanding of the public's views of human health risks associated with climate change, focusing on facilitators and barriers to behaviour change. Methods: Semi-structured in-depth interviews (n = 22) with residents of the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario were conducted between August 2010 and January 2011. Topics included individual and community health, climate change, and facilitators and barriers to behaviour change. Results: Few participants recognized the role of the environment in the context of either individual and community health. When asked about health concerns specific to their community, however, environmental issues were mentioned frequently. Health effects as possible impacts of global environmental change were mentioned by 77% of participants when prompted, but this link was not described in great detail or within the context of impacting their communities or themselves. Participants were willing to act in environmentally friendly ways, and possible incentives to undertake behaviour change such as decreasing cost were described. Health co-benefits were not identified as incentives to engaging in mitigative or adaptive behaviours. Conclusions: The results support recent calls for reframing the impact of climate change from an environmental to a public health issue in order to increase public engagement in adaptive and mitigative behaviour change. While previous research has touched on public awareness of the human health risks of climate change, we have further explored the attitude-action link through the examination of facilitators and barriers to behaviour change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents results from a survey on attitudes toward climate change in Alberta, Canada, home to just 10% of Canada's population, but the source of 35% of the country's greenhouse-gas emissions (Environment Canada ). Results show high levels of awareness, but much lower levels of perceived climate change impacts for one's self or region. Women expressed significantly greater awareness and sense of perceived impacts about climate change than men; however, gender differences appear predominantly associated with socioeconomic factors. Indeed, in all, political ideology had the strongest predictive value, with individuals voting for the conservative party significantly less likely to anticipate significant societal climate change impacts. This finding, in turn, is strongly associated with beliefs regarding whether climate change is human induced. Particularly notable is the finding that the gender gap in climate change beliefs and perceived impacts is not attributed to gendered social roles, as indicated by occupational and familial status. Instead, gender distinctions appear to be related to the lower tendency for women to ascribe to a conservative political ideology relative to men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]