On March 11, 2022, ICLR conducted a Friday Forum Webinar titled 'What are some key findings relevant to the Canadian context from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Sixth Assessment Report – Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adoption and Vulnerability?" led by Linda Mortsch.

IPCC Assessment Reports are considered the gold standard for information on climate change impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. In February 2022, the second of four reports in the sixth assessment cycle - Working Group II’s Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability - was released. It represents the culmination of an exacting process where experts review and assess climate change information in order to provide a synthesis for decision-making that is policy-relevant but not policy prescriptive. This presentation addresses three topics. It begins by describing the unique IPCC assessment process. Next, it highlights key, overarching findings from the report’s Summary for Policy Makers (SPM), which has received governments’ approval. Lastly, it focuses on the North America Chapter providing details relevant to the Canadian context on a wide range of topics such as water resources, forest fires, cities, and economic sectors.

Linda Mortsch has devoted much of her career to addressing climate change issues and facilitating adaptation planning and decision-making in water resources, coastal zones, wetland ecosystems and urban areas. She has expertise collaborating with stakeholders to assess impacts, vulnerability, and resilience, and initiate adaptation. Her 1992 research project “Adapting to climate variability and change in the Great Lakes Basin” was one of the first to engage stakeholders and explore adaptation to climate change in Canada. Since 1989, Linda has played a role in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a co-recipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. For the sixth assessment cycle, she was the Convening Lead Author for the North America chapter. Now retired from Environment and Climate Change Canada, Linda has an adjunct appointment in the Faculty of Environment at the University of Waterloo. She continues to undertake studies that support adaptation capacity building and help meet the challenges of moving from adaptation planning to implementation and from incremental to transformative changes. Linda received the 2009 University of Waterloo, Faculty of Environment, Alumni Achievement Award in recognition of professional achievement and distinguished environmental and community leadership.

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