Local governments maintain about 60 per cent of the infrastructure most exposed to climate hazards — and many lack the resources to adapt
Local governments maintain around 60 per cent of the critical infrastructure most exposed to flooding, wildfires, heat, erosion and freeze-thaw cycles — roads, bridges, water systems and wastewater systems. Many of those municipalities lack the financial, human and technological resources to adapt to a changing climate.
The hazards don't observe municipal borders: local governments are confined to their boundaries, while floods, wildfires, extreme heat and drought are not, often hitting numerous communities at once.
Adapting to a changing climate therefore requires greater co-operation and co-ordination across different orders of government.
AI-generated discussion · Different perspectives
The interesting question is scale. The idea on offer is a “territorial” approach: match policy to the specific characteristics of cities, regions and rural areas, and co-ordinate climate policy across all levels of government. In Canada's North, transport and food supply networks that cover very long distances need to be adapted to a warming environment.
Municipalities aren't passive here — they control land-use planning, permitting and local infrastructure. But their adaptive capacity is shaped by fiscal, regulatory and policy frameworks set by federal, provincial or territorial governments: provinces and territories hold jurisdiction over areas critical to climate resilience, while the federal government determines funding and national frameworks. Local control isn't the same thing as local capacity.