Climate-resilient infrastructure: a burning platform

The risks of our changing climate are getting more obvious. In 2021, torrential rains, flooding, and landslides took out highways and railways, cutting off Canada’s largest port—the Port of Vancouver—shutting down the Trans Mountain pipeline, and forcing the evacuation of several British Columbia cities. In 2023, record wildfires raged out of control, scorching 15 million hectares, and forcing the evacuation of more than 200 communities. In 2024, record heat waves in the east and destructive wildfires in the west have once again underlined that our climate is shifting and shifting fast. These climate-related disasters are shining a bright light on another serious problem: all of them have a huge negative impact on critical infrastructure and are deepened by infrastructure failings. You are likely picturing Jasper, Alta., right now; I know I am. This is an urgent priority. Resilient infrastructure can help protect lives, property, and communities. Current investments are not scaled to modernize and upgrade infrastructure to better withstand climate events. To be frank, current investments are not even up to the more limited task of maintaining Canada’s aging and inadequate infrastructure. But what’s to be done? Rodrigue Gilbert is the president of the Canadian Construction Association. Photograph courtesy of CCA One part of the solution is known. For years now, politicians have highlighted the need for a comprehensive, long-term national plan for infrastructure investment that factors in climate. The government even has an optimistically titled National Adaptation Strategy with a section on infrastructure. That document rightly states “there is a need to significantly scale up investment to support Canadian communities in making their infrastructure more resilient to a changing climate, in ways that match the magnitude and time horizon of the risks being faced.” All well and good. However, it does not get to the "how." How is the vital question. Too often, infrastructure investments seem to be at the mercy of political gamesmanship between parties and orders of government. Too often, decisions seem based on expediency rather than a thoughtful approach to what is actually needed—the proverbial "shovel-ready project" trumping the "shovel-worthy" one. The long-promised National Infrastructure Assessment (NIA) could be the answer to how. Done right, such an assessment would provide an apolitical way to align federal, provincial, municipal, and Indigenous needs. An evidence-based NIA, developed in collaboration with industry, would provide the long-term planning that actually gets us to a more resilient—and net-zero emissions—future. Having a fact-based assessment and sensible plan makes all the difference. Our own industry sector offers a case in point. In 2021, we released an industry report called Strength, resilience, sustainability: Canada’s construction sector recommendations on adapting to climate change. That paper called for action in a number of areas, and identified joint responsibilities of governments and industry. In a new report released Sept. 9 by the Canadian Construction Association (CCA)—Climate resilience in construction: Building for a sustainable future—we are pleased to say that, despite a longtime history as a contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, the construction sector has been making strides to curb its impact. Investments in clean technologies and materials are rising, and there has been a notable decrease in emission intensity across various infrastructure asset classes. That is not to say that the battle is won. In addition to highlighting key developments and best practices, the CCA report is clear-sighted about where improvement is still needed. Ironically, one of these areas remains the delivery of the National Infrastructure Assessment, which the 2021 paper called for as well. Even a thoughtful NIA is not a cure-all. To address the linkages between climate risks and infrastructure, governments must also consider broader policy issues, such as labour needs (recruiting future builders and training them); measures to incentivize industry innovation; procurement that recognizes that risk needs to be shared for better outcomes, and that has been modernized to reflect the need for companies to invest in climate resilient materials; and updates to standards and building codes that industry and suppliers can confidently work towards. Our industry stands ready to work with Canadian governments in all these areas to build a strong foundation for a stronger country. Hopefully, the next time we issue a report on this topic, we will be able to say that significant progress is being made to build infrastructure that is resilient to extreme weather events, and responsive to the specific needs of Canadians. But it is hard to remain optimistic about progress, since, even when the country is literally on fire, there just isn’t enough political urgency accorded to addressing the issue. Rodrigue Gilbert is the president of the Canadian Construction Association. CCA is the national voice for the construction industry in Canada, representing over 18,000 member firms in an integrated structure of 64 local and provincial construction associations. The Hill Times

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Climate-resilient infrastructure: a burning platform

Recent climate-related disasters are shining a bright light on another serious problem: their huge negative impact on critical infrastructure, deepened by infrastructure failings.

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