Learn About Climate Change: Lessons Learned

 

Bridging leading-edge climate science and modeling with a community-level process is not without its challenges. Several learnings stand out relating to Kimberley's and Elkford's experiences: 

  • It is important to communicate clearly to the community at the front end of the process as to what the science can and can’t provide in addressing local questions around impacts. It is probably fair to say that local expectations around what science would tell us about climate impacts were significantly beyond what was feasible within the parameters of the project and the current science. This points to the need for managing local/community expectations right from the beginning of the project.
  • The use of scenarios plus real-life examples of climate impacts in other communities is helpful for bridging the science and moving past its current limitations. The science of future climate projections is directional at best, showing what changes might occur with respect to temperature and precipitation on an annual and seasonal basis. Telling people that it might, on average, be 2-3 degrees C warmer in 40 years is still somewhat abstract and difficult to grasp in terms of the implications. There remains the question of “Well, what does that really mean for our water, forests, ecosystems, gardens, buildings, etc.?” Applying different scenarios based on more extreme manifestations of past climate can be helpful for asking "what if" questions, as is looking to communities that currently have the kind of climate that is being projected to see what kind of stresses they might already be facing.
  • Engage residents by asking what changes they are observing that might be related to climate change. Asking this question early on in the community-engagement process accomplishes several things: 1) it provides an opportunity for residents to share and perhaps validate with others in the community what they are already observing, 2) it is a good way to “open” the process and engage residents in the dialogue right from the beginning, 3) some of the local observations may subsequently be validated in a presentation by a visiting expert, which reinforces that climate impacts are not being imagined, 4) the shared observations provide an informal snapshot of what is important to residents and could inform subsequent research and data gathering.
  • Hearing more than one presentation of the climate science and impacts is useful. Hearing the data and analysis presented several times in different venues to different audiences increased people’s understanding and corresponding comfort level with the subject matter.
  • Engage the experts to communicate climate science and take the time to understand climate modeling and its limitations. Climate analysis and modeling is complex and subject to understanding some basic principles of how the models work, how the outputs are generated, and general strengths and limitations of current climate modeling science. It is best to engage the climate science experts to assist with communication of the science so that it is conveyed correctly and clearly. It is also important for core, local stakeholders to have some basic understanding of modeling principles and limitations.
  • With all future climate change projections, it is important to remember that predicting the future is never completely accurate. Future climatic changes and the impacts associated with those changes will vary drastically between different ecosystems across BC. It is important for communities to plan for alternative future scenarios, capitalizing on opportunities while increasing the adaptive capacity and reducing the vulnerability of infrastructure and livelihoods to climatic impacts.
  • Precipitation and temperature changes must be analyzed further to understand how these changes will impact other forces of disturbance (wildfire, flooding), the soils, flora and fauna, and the eventual impacts on our community infrastructure, economy, recreation, and general well being.

Tips from CBT’s technical advisory committee (2008-2009):

  • Despite poor data for mountain environments, look at community altitude and closeness to zero degrees.
  • It is helpful and important to look at freezing/thawing events, extreme precipitation level and fire.
  • To improve communications on historical climate change, report chronologically and seasonally.