Climate Change Impact Adaptation Planning

Climate change impacts are worsening globally and locally here in Hamilton. These impacts could include but are not limited to more shoreline and escarpment erosion causing infrastructure damage, more frequent and severe storms, increase number of extreme heat events, and more precipitation leading to flooding. Climate Change Impact Adaptation Planning will help to minimize the impacts on our residents and businesses, especially those most vulnerable to these impacts, to help reduce recovery time and costs.

In order to create Hamilton’s Climate Change Impact Adaptation Plan the City of Hamilton is asking all stakeholders who are interested to participate. There will be a series of engagement activities to identify and prioritize projects, and inform implementation plans with the goal of increasing the resiliency of our City and our community.

Project background

The City of Hamilton is working with ICLEI Canada through their Building Adaptive Resilient Communities (BARC) framework. This program offers a comprehensive way to respond to the impacts of climate change, develop and implement an adaptation plan, and protect the people, property, and prosperity of our community.

City staff consulted with community stakeholders in a series of workshops in 2016 and 2017 about which projected impacts were of the greatest concern, creating a prioritized ranking. A Draft Climate Change Impact Adaptation Plan (CCIAP) is now complete and will be going to General Issues Committee on August 8, 2022.

City of Hamilton Future Climate Projections

A summary of climate data for the City of Hamilton (as defined by the Climate Atlas of Canada it summarizes data from 24 climate models). The purpose of this report is to inform how the climate is projected to change from now until predominantly the 2080s, and to provide direction for the assessment of climate risk and eventual adaptation actions for both municipalities.

Hamilton Climate Science Full Report (PDF, 936 KB)

Hamilton Climate Science Infographic (PDF, 2 MB)

Vulnerability and Risk Assessment (Final Report)

The 2020-21 Vulnerability and Risk Assessment (VRA or RVA) included community surveys, meetings and workshops, and surveys for City staff. ICLEI Canada has completed a report outlining all engagement activities and the assessment and final results.

• Vulnerability and Risk Assessment Report

A Fact Sheet summary of the VRA has been created and lists:

• The final list of high-priority climate impacts
• Who was included in the engagement for this assessment
• What activities were included as part of this engagement
• The definition of Vulnerability and Risk in this assessment and how they are determined