NEWS RELEASE - FEBRUARY 14 / 2024
Edmonton Metropolitan Region Working to Climate-Proof the Future
Edmonton, AB — The Edmonton Metropolitan Region Board (EMRB) has completed the Region’s first climate risk and vulnerability assessment, From Risk to Resilience. The report will support the work already underway in many member municipalities, providing 24 concrete adaptative actions to guide municipal and regional resilience.
From Risk to Resilience explores 25 climate impact scenarios and assesses related vulnerabilities and opportunities to the health and wellbeing, built environment, natural environment, and economy across the 13 diverse municipalities that make up the Edmonton Metro Region. According to the report, the Region could lose $4 billion annually by the 2050s if no action is taken. Understanding the most serious climate risks and knowing the pathways to resilience will help ensure the Region remains a reliable and safe place to live and invest.
The first ever regional study to look at climate adaptation measures through a regional lens, From Risk to Resilience was made possible by a $160,000 grant from the Government of Alberta through the Municipal Climate Change Action Centre’s (MCCAC) Climate Resilience Capacity Building Program. 49 projects in 66 communities across the province have received funding under this program.
Comprising 13 dynamic, complementary, and ambitious municipalities, the Edmonton Metro Region is home to 1.5 million people and a GDP of $109 billion. Through the EMRB, member municipalities are working to build together what none of them could build alone – a globally competitive Region that offers an unparalleled quality of life and a wealth of economic opportunities.
“Climate change is one of the Region’s most pressing challenges. Through collaborative efforts, we’ve crafted a comprehensive climate risk and vulnerability assessment for the Region. This empowers municipalities to consider recommendations based on what aligns best with their local, sub-regional and regional priorities to help ensure that our communities remain safe, affordable, and attractive to investors.”
— Mayor Allan Gamble, EMRB Board Chair“Over just eight days in 2019, Stony Plain experienced two once-in-a-century rainfall events causing widespread flooding, resulting in significant impacts to our community and infrastructure. While this is unprecedented, we understand these weather events will become more common. This assessment is critical to identifying all the risks our communities may face and offering a suite of adaptation actions we can consider to minimize the impacts of climate change in the future.”
— Mayor William Choy, Town of Stony Plain"The Region’s built and natural environments are intricately linked. As our communities inevitably grow, we must continue to carefully weave the two with an eye to the climate risks we all face. This assessment serves as a compass, guiding us towards sustainable solutions and fostering a collective commitment to safeguarding our communities and the Region against the challenges of a changing climate.”
— Mayor Cathy Heron, City of St. Albert“Alberta communities are leading the charge towards a sustainable future. The EMRB’s regional climate risk assessment sets a prime example of how a large-scale challenge like climate change can be addressed by municipalities working together.”
—Dan Rude, CEO of Alberta Municipalities“Rural municipalities cover 85 per cent of Alberta’s land mass and play a crucial role in preparing for and responding to climate risks. It is encouraging to see that the study recognizes the unique climate risks and impacts faced by rural communities within the EMRB. RMA congratulates the leadership of the EMRB on developing this important climate change action plan.
— Reeve Paul McLauchlin, President of the Rural Municipalities of Alberta
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The Edmonton Metropolitan Region Board unites the decision-makers from 13 rural and urban municipalities in the Region. With populations ranging from 6,500 to 1M, these municipalities are at the forefront of shaping the Region’s future. The Board assumes a pivotal role in ensuring the Region’s growth is both intelligent and sustainable. Our visionary blueprint, Re-imagine. Plan. Build., an acclaimed growth plan, encompasses six interconnected policy areas that address the Region’s opportunities and challenges until 2044. Through deliberate and proactive planning, investment, and construction, we steadfastly maintain the Region’s attraction as a prime destination for businesses and individuals to forge their destinies.
Related Information
From Risk to Resilience: Edmonton Metropolitan Region Study
Study Backgrounder (see further below)
Municipal Climate Change Action Centre’s (MCCAC) Climate Resilience Capacity Building Program
Media Contacts
EMRB
Cindie LeBlanc
Director of Corporate and Stakeholder Relations
587-372-2999 cleblanc@emrb.ca
MCCAC
Meaghan Willis
meaghanw@abmunis.ca
Backgrounder
Thanks to the EMRB, the Edmonton Metro Region is one where people, goods, and services effortlessly move across 13 diverse municipalities. This collective way of living is a powerful foundation for future-forward regional planning. Through the EMRB’s award-winning growth plan, the Region leverages the individual strengths of member municipalities to collectively achieve results that would be beyond their reach alone. Such is the case with understanding and responding to the impacts of climate and weather-related events.
In undertaking a regional climate risk and vulnerability assessment, the EMRB wanted to better understand how climate change will impact a Region as diverse as ours, with three unique areas: rural, metropolitan, and metropolitan core. Through this study, the EMRB looked at proactive measures the Region and individual municipalities could consider to reduce the negative impacts of extreme weather events and the changing climate across key focus areas: health and wellbeing, natural environment, built environment, and the economy. These focus areas were based on the growth plan’s six integrated policy areas.
Phases of the Project
The project was completed between October 2022 and December 2023, in five phases, each informing one another:
Project planning
Research and analysis
Risk and vulnerability assessment
Adaptation planning
Reporting
Subject matter experts developed climate projections for the Region, completed a risk and vulnerability assessment, analyzed the costs of inaction, and developed adaptations to mitigate the most critical vulnerabilities. This quantitative assessment was supplemented with robust stakeholder engagement to provide valuable qualitative information from key subject matter experts through nine workshops that included representatives from municipalities, the Government of Alberta, and various environmental and industry organizations.
Funding Support
From Risk to Resilience was funded by EMRB member municipalities as well as $160,000 in grant funding from the Government of Alberta through the Municipal Climate Change Action Centre’s (MCCAC) Climate Resilience Capacity Building Program.
The Climate Resilience Capacity Building Program was developed and administered by the Municipal Climate Change Action Centre, a partnership of Alberta Municipalities, Rural Municipalities of Alberta, and the Government of Alberta.
The EMRB’s participation in the MCCAC’s Climate Resilience Capacity Building program was facilitated through the City of Leduc as the lead program participant.
