It is scientific fact that the northern regions of Canada, the world's second-largest country, are warming up at a much faster pace than the rest of the Earth.
As rising temperatures kill off forests, flood low-lying areas and cause more illnesses, Canadians will feel the jarring effects of climate change—to the tune of approximately 1 percent of GDP by 2050. That equates to approximately $5 billion a year by 2020, and those costs will continue to climb to between $21 billion and $43 billion a year by the 2050s, according to an official panel engaged by Canada’s Conservative government. In the worst-case scenario, climate change could cost as much as $91 billion per year by 2050.
The panel,
In its report, the panel projects the cost of climate change based on four scenarios, ranging from slow population and economic growth combined with low climate change, to rapid population and economic growth and high climate change.
"The magnitude of costs depends upon a combination of two factors: global emissions growth and Canadian economic and population growth," the panel said.
Long-criticized by green activists for not doing enough to fight global warming, Canada's government was instructed by its panel to take immediate measures to mitigate the effects of climate change.
The panel recommended several measures to help limit damage from climate change:
• Enhance forest fire prevention, control pests, and plant climate-resilient tree species;
• Prohibit new construction in areas at risk of flooding in coastal areas;
• And install pollution control technologies to limit ozone formation.
"Climate change presents a growing, long-term economic burden for Canada," said the NRTEE.
Further, the panel dismissed the idea that global warming could actually help Canada due to its northern geographic position by reducing heating costs and making it easier to grow certain kinds of crops.
"Our houses are well-insulated...Prairie farmers are accustomed to variability in moisture levels from one growing season to the next, but recent research suggests the potential for more severe and frequent drought and unusually wet years, with implications for future yields," it said.
The NRTEE said Canada would benefit environmentally and economically from a global treaty that would systematically reduce carbon emissions beyond 2012, when the first stage of the Kyoto Protocol expires.
Shortly after Canada’s Conservative government took power in 2006, it walked away from Kyoto and subsequently adopted a much more modest target for emissions cuts, according to reports.
