Climate Change Adaption: Ontario’s Resilient Greenbelt

Natural systems in southern Ontario (like water resources, habitat, and wildlife) and human activities (like agriculture and recreation), are subject to significant climate change impacts. This report examines the potential impacts, both positive and negative, of climate change on the long-term viability of the Greenbelt. It proposes a suite of measures to adapt to these changes.

Recommended adaptation measures include:

Integrate climate change adaptation into provincial policies that govern provincial and municipal planning processes, including the Provincial Policy Statement, the Growth Plan, and the Greenbelt Plan;
Implement provincial measures to reduce air pollution from industrial sources and the transportation sector in order to decrease stress on natural and agricultural systems in the Greenbelt;
Pursue improvements to water quality and supply/demand management in municipal climate change adaptation strategies;
Promote compact growth to prevent further habitat destruction and fragmentation;
Protect and restore habitats and reduce impervious surfaces; and,
Adopt climate change adaptation strategies in agriculture, such as diversifying crops, undertaking practices that improve soil health, and adopting more water-efficient systems.

This report examines the potential impacts, both positive and negative, of climate change on the long-term viability of the Greenbelt.

The Greenbelt helps to protect natural and human systems from the negative impacts of climate change by limiting the scope of environmental stress through urban development and other human activities. Local efforts to strengthen the Greenbelt and increase the region’s resiliency contribute to broader efforts to address climate change.