The province is spending nearly $3 million to better prepare for climate-related disasters.
According to the province, the money will fund four projects looking at disaster risk reduction, climate adaptation, and resilience, with a focus on informing decision-making to support affected communities.
Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness Bowinn Ma says while progress has been made, there is still more work to do.
“These initiatives will amplify our understanding of where our strengths and risks are, enabling us to bolster our collective resiliency to the impacts of climate change,” said Ma.
The money will go to the Social Planning and Resource Council of BC, the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions, the University of British Columbia Disaster Resilience Research Network, and the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium.
$1.5 million will go to the council’s three-year project, which will focus on assessing disaster and climate risks among multiple groups, including Indigenous people, women, the elderly, and people with disabilities.
$495,000 will go to the Pacific Institute’s two-year project, with the institute planning on using the province’s academic sector to help integrate new research into risk assessments.
Both the UBC research network and the Consortium will receive $450,000 for the next two years, with plans to get a better understanding of the variety of risks facing the province and to enhance climate change information respectively.
