Hon. Rosa Galvez: Honourable senators, Canada must continue to take meaningful steps to become more resilient in the face of ever-increasing impacts of climate change. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction adopted by the United Nations in 2015 sets out a comprehensive approach to disaster risk management with a focus on reducing vulnerabilities and increasing resilience. This framework has informed work on adaptation, including our own — Canada’s — 2022 National Adaptation Strategy, which will play a critical role in ensuring that we are prepared for the challenges we are facing today.

This framework coordinates action across all levels of government to address the impacts of climate change on our economy, infrastructure, natural environments and health and well-being.

A key area where engineers play a crucial role in increasing resilience is in the design and construction of infrastructure — for example, by developing a stronger building code. Engineers are trained to consider the potential impacts of climate change on the infrastructure and to incorporate measures to reduce the risks posed by this impact. This includes designing buildings, roads and bridges to be more resistant to extreme weather events and to be more adaptable to changing conditions.

The American Society of Civil Engineers, the ASCE, provided the rationale for the $1.2-trillion Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA. Their ATLAS initiative for climate resilient infrastructure aligns with the goal of the United States’ IRA by promoting the integration of resilience into planning, design, construction and maintenance. Their initiative aims to lift the quality of infrastructure by creating national assessments for climate resilience and also aims to reduce climate risk, share knowledge and innovation and attract capital for a more competitive and resilient society.

The next G7 meeting, which Japan is hosting in May 2023, will provide an important opportunity for the world’s leading economies to come together and take action on issues related to climate change and resilience, including by endorsing the principles of the ATLAS initiative. Canada must use this opportunity to showcase our progress in becoming more resilient and to work with the expertise of our learning societies to develop new and innovative solutions to address the challenges we face today.

Thank you. Meegwetch.