Mining, People and the Environment > Enviromine > Canadian mining future depends on climate

Enviromine

The Canadian mining sector needs to do more to adapt to future climate change if it is going to remain prosperous, a report by environmental policy experts the David Suzuki Foundation has found.

The report found that as many as 48% of mining stakeholders believed that climate change was already having an impact on the industry in Canada, but that despite this few companies were pro-actively planning for the impacts of future climate change.

“The Canadian mining sector is particularly vulnerable to the consequences of climate change,” the report’s co-author Jason Prno said.

The impacts of climate change were already being felt across the industry, the report found, for example the closure of ice-roads in the Northwest Territory in 2006 due to an exceptionally warm winter, which cost diamond mines million of dollars when fuel and equipment had to be transported by air.

The report also found that while companies were taking action to address greenhouse gas emissions, only 25% of executives viewed climate change as something that would directly impact their operations.

“Preparing for the ongoing reality of climate change is in the best interests both of mining companies and communities whose well-being is tied to the success of the industry,” Dale Marshall and climate policy analyst with the David Suzuki Foundation said.

The report recommends that the industry works to identify the most cost effective strategies and technologies to adapt to climate change, in addition to any mitigation efforts.

It also recommended that government introduce regulations that mandate that companies plan for climate change both during the mine’s operating life and through decommissioning.