Whereas the increasing impacts of climate change are requiring local governments to develop robust climate adaptation plans and policies; And whereas these adaptation plans and policies must be grounded in a detailed analysis of the unique climate risks and vulnerabilities of each local area: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM call upon the Province of British Columbia to fund and support the development and integration of climate risk and vulnerability assessments into Official Community Plan review processes.
Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Municipal Affairs, and Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General The Province is committed to advancing disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation, and is listening to what is being shared by local governments and First Nations through engagements on the development of the Climate Preparedness and Adaptation Strategy CPAS, BC Flood Strategy, and the modernization of emergency management legislation. We have heard from communities that undertaking climate risk and vulnerability assessments is foundational to developing informed adaptation plans and policies. To support communities in undertaking this work and building their resilience, Emergency Management BC is providing 95 million to the Union of BC Municipalities to administer the Community Emergency Preparedness Funds Disaster Risk Reduction Climate Adaptation funding stream. Additional funding may also be available to communities through the Local Government Climate Action Program, which provides participating local government with funding to be used for their climate action work, including the development of climate risk and vulnerability assessments. The Climate Preparedness and Adaptation Strategy CPAS, released in June 2022, is responsive to the climate events experienced in 2021. CPAS includes actions to improve data, build our capacity to understand climate risks, and form partnerships for collective action. Better understanding climate risks also includes advancing our collective understanding of how climate change will impact BC. CPAS further commits the province to develop a provincial-scale Climate Risk Assessment, and Hazard, Risk and Vulnerability Assessment HRVA. The current local government legislation provides direction for the development of Official Community Plans OCPs, with the flexibility to incorporate the results of any provincial, regional, and community level climate risk assessments and HRVAs in those OCPs. The annual provincial Climate Change Accountability Report will track progress and public reporting on our understanding of climate risks for the province, actions taken to manage those risks, spending, and future planned action. Community Emergency Preparedness Fund URL: https:www.ubcm.cacepf Climate Change Accountability Report URL: https:www2.gov.bc.cagovcontentenvironmentclimate-changeplanning-and-act…