Glossary of terms

Includes any initiatives or actions in response to actual or projected climate change impacts and which reduce the effects of climate change on built, natural and social systems.

The ability of built, natural and social systems to adjust to climate change (including climate variability and extremes), to moderate potential damage, to take advantage of opportunities, or to cope with the consequences.

A climatological baseline is a reference period, typically three decades (or 30 years), that is used to compare fluctuations of climate between one period and another. Baselines can also be called references or reference periods.

The weather of a place averaged over a period of time, often 30 years. Climate information includes the statistical weather information that tells us about the normal weather, as well as the range of weather extremes for a location.

Climate change refers to changes in long-term weather patterns caused by natural phenomena and human activities that alter the chemical composition of the atmosphere through the build-up of greenhouse gases which trap heat and reflect it back to the earth’s surface.

The Climate Atlas of Canada is an interactive tool that combines climate science, mapping, and storytelling to depict expected climatic changes across Canada to the end of the century. The 250-layer map is based on data from 12 global climate models. Users are shown a baseline period of warming trends by region that spans from 1950 to 2005 and can toggle between two future projection periods, 2021 to 2050 and 2051 to 2080.

Offers local climate data and advanced customization options to allow for a better understanding of changes likely to be experienced by Canadian communities. Climate Data Canada is a collaboration between Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Computer Research Institute of Montréal, Ouranos, the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium, the Prairie Climate Centre, and HabitatSeven.

Climate projections are a projection of the response of the climate system to emissions or concentration scenarios of greenhouse gases and aerosols. These projections depend upon the climate change (or emission) scenario used, which is based on assumptions concerning future socioeconomic and technological developments that may or may not be realized and are therefore subject to uncertainty.

A climate change scenario is the difference between a future climate scenario and the current climate. It is a simplified representation of future climate based on comprehensive scientific analyses of the potential consequences of anthropogenic climate change. It is meant to be a plausible representation of the future emission amounts based on a coherent and consistent set of assumptions about driving forces (such as demographic and socioeconomic development, and technological change) and their key relationships.

An ensemble approach uses the average of all global climate models (GCMs) for temperature and precipitation. Research has shown that running many models provides the most realistic projection of annual and seasonal temperature and precipitation than using a single model.

A meteorological event that is rare at a place and time of year, such as an intense storm, tornado, hail storm, flood or heat wave, and is beyond the normal range of activity. An extreme weather event would normally occur very rarely or fall into the tenth percentile of probability.

Greenhouse gases are those gaseous constituents of the atmosphere, both natural and anthropogenic, that absorb and emit radiation at specific wavelengths within the spectrum of thermal infrared radiation, emitted by the Earth’s surface, the atmosphere itself, and by clouds. Water vapour (H₂O), carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), ozone (O₃), and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are the six primary greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere in order of abundance.

The effects of existing or forecast changes in climate on built, natural, and human systems. One can distinguish between potential impacts (impacts that may occur given a projected change in climate, without considering adaptation) and residual impacts (impacts of climate change that would occur after adaptation).

Climate-related impact statements are concise statements that outline locally relevant projected threats and how those changes are expected to affect the built, natural, social, and economic systems of the municipality.

An approach to climate action that encourages coordination and co-evaluation of mitigation and adaptation measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while also building resilience. Applying an LCR lens bridges the gap between mitigation and adaptation silos by finding alignment in planning, policies and programs. LCR brings with it a number of operational benefits and climate action synergies including cost savings and resource efficiencies, reduced reliance on grey infrastructure, improved flood and heat management, improved carbon sequestration, as well as a number of co-benefits for health, air quality, infrastructure, equity, preserving ecosystem health and biodiversity.

The promotion of policy, regulatory and project-based measures that contribute to the stabilization or reduction of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. Renewable energy programs, energy efficiency frameworks and substitution of fossil fuels are examples of climate change mitigation measures.

The difference between the quantity of GHG emissions produced by human activity and those removed from the atmosphere through natural and technical methods and other measures.

The capacity of a system, community or society exposed to hazards to adapt, by resisting or changing in order to reach and maintain an acceptable level of functioning and structure.

The combination of the likelihood of an event occurring and its negative consequences. Risk can be expressed as a function where Risk = likelihood x consequence. In this case, likelihood refers to the probability of a projected impact occurring, and consequence refers to the known or estimated outcomes of a particular climate change impact.

Measures the degree to which the community will be affected when exposed to a climate-related impact. Sensitivity reflects the ability of the community to function (functionality) as normal when an impact occurs.

Vulnerability refers to the susceptibility of the community to harm arising from climate change impacts. It is a function of a community’s sensitivity to climate change and its capacity to adapt to climate change impacts.

The day-to-day state of the atmosphere, and its short-term variation in minutes to weeks.

AWG – Adaptation Working Group

BARC – Building Adaptive and Resilient Communities

IPCC – Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

LCR – Low Carbon Resilience

MWG – Mitigation Working Group

NCA – Net-Zero Communities Accelerator