Burlington
Environment, Infrastructure and Community Services
Climate Action Plan - Draft Adaptation Plan
EICS-02-22
Executive summary
- Climate Resilient Burlington (CRB): A Plan for Adapting to Our Warmer, Wetter and Wilder Weather is a climate adaptation plan identifying actions to manage the highest projected risks of warmer, wetter and wilder weather (Appendix A). While CRB considered Burlington’s climate projections to the years 2051-2080 under a high emissions scenario, the plan outlines actions to focus on for the next 10 years to build resilience and prepare for a changing climate.
- The plan was developed using a bottom-up approach. As such, extensive engagement with 49 City staff and community stakeholders representing 12 City departments and 17 community organizations took place through 15 workshops between September 2021 and January 2022 as well as additional follow-up.
- The community was also engaged through a dedicated CRB page on the Get Involved Burlington portal. The CRB plan includes 32 actions under five themes, with each theme having one to three related action groups. The 10 action groups each include a goal as well as indicators and targets for monitoring and reporting.
- Theme 1: Resilient Built and Natural Infrastructure – three goals and 13 actions relate to infrastructure design and lifecycle management, flood management, and service disruption.
- Theme 2: Thriving Natural Environment – two goals and five actions relate to tree management and natural area management.
- Theme 3: Health and Well-Being – one goal and five actions relate to extreme heat and health.
- Theme 4: Disaster Resilience – two goals and five actions relate to community capacity building, and citizen and business support programs.
- Theme 5: Strong and Resilient Economy – two goals and four actions relate to agriculture and local economy
Climate implications
- A community survey was posted on the Get Involved Burlington CRB project page between Oct. 27 and Nov. 14, 2021 and 152 responses were received. When asked about the level of concern about our changing climate, 111 respondents were very concerned and 14 were moderately concerned. When asked how soon the effects of our changing climate will be felt, 125 respondents said we’re already feeling the effects of a changing climate. When provided a list of impacts that have already been felt, the top five responses were:
- Stress on trees or plants in my neighbourhood due to weather
- Reduced outdoor recreation activities
- Uncomfortably hot temperatures in my home during summer months
- Flooding/seepage of water on my property or in my home from extreme rainfall
- Property damage from high winds
- Local impacts already experienced in Burlington include:
- Damage to creek infrastructure due to erosion from extreme storms
- Damage to roads and other infrastructure due to freeze-thaw patterns, extreme precipitation, intense heat, etc.
- Impacts to transportation network and economy due to flooding and high wind events closing roads
- Increasing demand for services such as splash pads and water fountains due to increased extreme heat events
- Use of facilities as warming, cooling or evacuation centres
- Flooded roads, parks, paths and basements
- Damaged and diseased trees due to ice storms, high wind events, drought, etc.
- Health impacts from extreme heat and vectors such as infected blacklegged ticks which carry Lyme disease
- Impacts to mental health due to extreme events
- When David Phillips, Senior Climatologist from Environment and Climate Change Canada presented “Weather and Climate: It’s Not What Our Grandparents Knew” he stated that “climate change is not about slushy winters and earlier springs. It’s about greater extremes and greater variability. Those are going to beat us up when our climate changes even more dramatically than now. If recent years have taught us anything is to expect the unexpected!”