Canada releases the Climate Science 2050: National Priorities for Climate Change Science and Knowledge Report

GATINEAU, Quebec, May 30, 2024 /CNW/ - Canada is committed to staying at the forefront of the science on climate change—scientific research that drives evidence-based measures to reduce carbon emissions; build strong, resilient communities and ecosystems; and spark growth in a green economy.

The science is clear: human-caused climate change has created an urgent need for action.  Scientific advice and knowledge continue to be crucial to guide and inform policy and decision-making to achieve a net-zero Canada.

Today, the Government of Canada is releasing the Climate Science 2050: National Priorities for Climate Change Science and Knowledge Report—a comprehensive report that gives clarity and direction to the science resources required to address climate change. The Report identifies priority science and knowledge activities that Canada needs to pursue to meet the climate targets and adaptation goals identified in the Progress Report on the 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan and the National Adaptation Strategy.

This Report is the result of two years of extensive engagement, led by Environment and Climate Change Canada, with more than 500 leaders from the Canadian climate change science community, including governments, industry sectors, and academia. It presents multiple expert views on key scientific research activities across different domains to guide research so it can better inform climate change mitigation and adaptation policies, programs, and services. The Report emphasizes that both Indigenous and Western science are required to generate the most relevant advice.

The Government of Canada will continue to turn to experts in Indigenous and Western science and knowledge to obtain the data and information needed to inform innovative and decisive climate action.

Quotes

"Without our scientists and Indigenous knowledge-keepers, we would not have a map to follow. They give us the clear numbers and striking comparisons. Their evidence helps us understand where we are headed and where we could be. The data and knowledge that we prioritize now will be the key to our innovation in the future, and the Climate Science 2050 Report not only helps us set our priorities, but also draws a path by identifying the science activities and research that we need to produce so we can meet the challenge of climate change."
– The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change

Quick facts

• The Climate Science 2050: National Priorities for Climate Change Science and Knowledge Report was written with input from various scientific disciplines, from emissions quantification and air quality to impacts on health, infrastructure, and biodiversity. It highlights the need for natural, health, and social sciences to work together for a resilient, net-zero Canada.
• The scope of the Report is guided by an equitable inclusion of diverse knowledge systems, making space for Indigenous leadership and innovation, recognizing that Indigenous knowledge is a distinct network of knowledge systems that co-exist alongside Western science tradition and that, though distinct, together these diverse approaches have the potential to co-create new knowledge.
• This Report can help guide the full range of science actors across government, academia, non-governmental organizations, national Indigenous organizations, foundations, and the private sector—anyone who is active in the delivery of science to better inform climate change mitigation and adaptation policies, programs, and services.
• This Report builds on a 2020 report, entitled Climate Science 2050: Advancing Science and Knowledge on Climate Change. This foundational document brought experts together to define what was required to accelerate scientific work in areas related to climate-resilience and net-zero emissions.

Associated links

• Climate Science 2050
• Climate Science 2050: Advancing Science and Knowledge on Climate Change (published 2020)
• 2023 Progress Report on the 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan
• National Adaptation Strategy

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SOURCE Environment and Climate Change Canada

Contacts: Kaitlin Power, Senior Press Secretary and Communications Advisor, Office of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, 819-230-1557, [email protected]; Media Relations, Environment and Climate Change Canada, 819-938-3338 or 1-844-836-7799 (toll-free), [email protected]