Manitoba Climate Change Task Force - International Institute for ...

Executive Summary
Climate change poses a
particular challenge to Manitoba due to the diversity, magnitude and volatility of its
impacts. At the same time, the global economy of the future will be increasingly
based on the development of clean and renewable energy. Manitoba is well
positioned to benefit from this trend. Action is urgently needed, however, to
ensure that Manitoba is able to respond to the challenges ahead and take
advantage of emerging opportunities.
In March 2001, Premier Gary Doer and Conservation Minister Oscar Lathlin
established an eight-member task force to examine the challenges and opportunities
for Manitoba posed by climate change. The information and recommendations
contained in this report are meant to provide a basis from which the
government of Manitoba will develop its climate change action plan.
Climate change has become synonymous with increasingly dramatic and
unprecedented flooding, fires, drought and severe weather conditions. It is
already altering the landscape of Manitoba’s agricultural regions and forests,
impacting on people’s lives as they begin to adapt to its effects. Task force
members were concerned by the extent of climate change that has already
become evident in Manitoba, and is particularly affecting northern and rural
communities. They found that Manitoba’s system of winter roads, for instance,
is under threat from warmer temperatures. At the same time, the task force
noted recent impacts on agriculture and the projections for unpredictable and
variable weather conditions.
Those who made presentations to the task force emphasized that action on
climate change is needed now and called upon the government of Manitoba to
take a leadership role among the provinces. They recognized that mitigation
efforts, involving real reductions in greenhouse gases, are required in conjunction
with adaptation strategies. Through its public consultations, the task force
learned that, although there is a small, active community working on the issue of
climate change, greater public understanding of its implications is essential.
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