Province releases Climate Change Risk Assessment

During today’s sitting of the PEI Legislature, Minister of Environment, Energy and Climate Action, Steven Myers released the recent Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA). 

The CCRA looked at the following climate hazards on Prince Edward Island:

• Coastal erosion
• Post tropical storms
• Heat waves
• Heavy precipitation and flooding
• Severe ice storms and freezing rain
• Earlier, warmer springs
• Seasonal drought

Local experts from across the Island, including Indigenous communities, informed the project with funding support from Natural Resources Canada. The province will use this report to help inform future decisions and a climate change adaptation plan.

“The results of the report are not shocking. They validate and substantiate why we have been working on adaptation and taking action where our vulnerabilities are. We know we have more work to do and the climate change risk assessment helps us focus and prioritize our efforts.”

 - Minister Myers

As immediate next steps, the province will create a province-wide adaptation plan to tackle the risks outlined in this assessment.

“This plan is significant as we need to ensure our Island is ready for the impacts of a changing climate. Working with our federal counterparts, we will continue to make smart, informed and responsible decisions as we move forward,” said Minister Myers. “I encourage all Islanders to read the report and consider how they can lessen their impacts on the environment.”

Media contact:
Jill Edwards
Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action
jedwards@gov.pe.ca