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Climate change mitigation relates to actions that reduce our contribution to the greenhouse gases that cause climate change.

Climate change adaptation relates to actions that prepares our organization and community to manage the impacts of a warming climate.

Some of the benefits of climate action include:

• Reduced costs for residents, businesses, and the municipality. Investments in infrastructure, conservation, efficiency, and clean energy reduce operating and maintenance costs and protect our community from the costs of climate impacts.
• Improved equity and quality of life for all. This is achieved through improved accessibility, housing quality, emergency preparation, and poverty alleviation.
• A diversified and growing economy, resilient to both local and global changes. Our community can capitalize on new and existing sectors like renewable energy, building, construction, and cleantech with additional employment opportunities.
• Improved community health. Active lifestyles, cleaner air, and preparation for extreme weather events can significantly reduce rates of hospitalization, illness and disease, and mortality for everyone in our community.

The City has committed to reducing emissions to net-zero by 2050—meaning that by the year 2050 the total amount of carbon that Saskatoon emits is equal to the amount removed from the atmosphere through sequestration.

The Low Emissions Community Plan (LEC Plan) is the City’s current plan to reduce emissions. Currently, the LEC Plan reflects a previous target of 80% emissions reduction. The update that is underway will build on the LEC Plan and map a pathway to net-zero.

The corporate climate adaptation plan, Local Actions: Saskatoon’s Adaptation Strategy, sets out the actions to prepare Saskatoon for a changing climate. The update that is underway will assess the impacts of climate change across the broader community and lay out actions to support community well-being as our climate changes.

Saskatoon is already experiencing the impacts of climate change. As Saskatoon’s climate continues to change we can expect:

• More very hot days in summer. Saskatoon is projected to move from 7 days above 30°C every year (historically) to 21 days above 30°C by 2050 and 45 days by 2080
• More days with poor air quality as wildfires increase across Canada
• More severe and frequent storms
• Unpredictable rainfall: increased drought in the summer and increased flooding as more of our rain falls in heavy storms
• More freeze-thaw cycles in winter and fewer in spring and fall
• "Weather whiplash” - increased sudden changes between hot and cold days, such as a rainy February day followed by extreme cold

These expected changes, or climate projections, are based on a report from SLR Consulting updating Saskatoon’s climate data. More detailed projections are available in the Climate Change Projections, Hazards, and Impact Report.

Projections are provided for two future climate scenarios that describe how the global community acts, or doesn’t act, on climate change:

1. a middle-of-the-road scenario; and
2. a business-as-usual scenario.

The middle-of-the-road scenario describes a moderate reduction in global carbon pollution. The business-as-usual scenario is a high pollution scenario with very limited global reductions in carbon pollution. These scenarios are defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). More severe changes are expected under the business-as-usual scenario.

For the preliminary climate risk assessment, the City relied on the business-as-usual scenario to inform the risk ratings. This approach allows us to consider more severe risks while planning for an uncertain future. While the City remains committed to climate action targets, we can’t control how quickly the rest of the world acts.

A Preliminary Climate Risk Assessment was conducted to rate the probable impacts of climate change in Saskatoon on health and safety, housing, businesses, and the City’s infrastructure and green network. The risks are rated from one to 20 based on the likelihood and impact of the risk, with any risks 15 or higher considered high risk. Results are based on preliminary consultations with City employees and subject matter experts in our community and will be verified through public engagement before being presented to City Council as part of the Climate Action Plan.

The highest risks are:

• Health risks from unsafe indoor air temperatures
• Damage to and loss of tree canopy
• Localized or widespread loss of power utility

Many of the remaining high risks are risks borne by the community, with climate change impacts adding to existing challenges:

• Access to housing further reduced by increasing physical damage and demand
• Increasing food insecurity
• Temporary closure of service organizations following extreme weather events
• Increasing barriers to getting around
• Increasing costs to individuals
• Health risks from wildfire smoke
• Mental health and long-term impacts

The preliminary risk assessment was developed internally with extensive engagement with City employees and departments and external engagement with subject matter experts in our community, including community-serving and healthcare organizations. It relies on subject matter expertise from many City departments, research into climate impacts, a third-party consultant report on climate data, and review of other climate risk assessments across Canada. It is an update to the risk assessment in the 2019 Corporate Adaptation Strategy and expands that assessment to include risks to the whole community of Saskatoon.

Each risk was rated using a risk matrix to assess the impact and likelihood of the event occurring under future climate conditions in Saskatoon. This risk assessment will be used to inform recommended actions in the Climate Action Plan.