Social, economic and health perspectives on climate change

Released: 2024-04-15

Climate change is a long-term shift in weather conditions that involves changes and variability in average weather conditions, including extreme weather events. The economy, labour, health and well-being are many aspects of Canadian society that both affect and are affected by climate change.

A new release, "Research to Insights: Social, Economic, and Health Perspectives on Climate Change," explores the impact of climate change on Canadian society as well as mitigation and adaptation efforts to reduce greenhouse gases and adapt to a changing climate.

Here are some highlights from the release.

About two in three Canadians have household air conditioning

Exposure to extreme heat is one of the most direct impacts of climate change on health. Daily mortality risk was 2% to 8% higher than average during extreme heat events from 2000 to 2020 for 12 large Canadian cities. Air conditioning is one of the most effective ways to reduce the negative health impacts of these extreme heat events. A recent study showed that the percentage of people with household air conditioning in 2017 varied by region, ranging from 32% in British Columbia to 85% in Ontario. People who lived alone, did not own their home or were of low-income status were less likely to have air conditioning in their homes compared with the overall population.

Regional economies in British Columbia impacted to varying degrees by 2021 floods

Parts of British Columbia were affected by flooding due to heavy rains from November 13 to 15, 2021. These floods had a significant impact on local economies. While the impacted areas accounted for a small share of the provincial economy, on a regional basis, they accounted for 15.5% of the economy of the Fraser Valley, 4.6% of the economy of Thompson–Nicola and 6.2% of the economy of Okanagan–Similkameen.

Carbon taxes increase manufacturers' economic and climate change performances but have mixed results for air pollutants in British Columbia

British Columbia's carbon tax improved manufacturers' economic efficiency; sales efficiency increased by 11.9 percentage points on average from the 2004-to-2007 period to the 2008-to-2012 period. The carbon tax also led to an 11.0 percentage point increase in environmental efficiency for greenhouse gas emissions over the same period. The tax's impact on air pollutants was mixed; it enhanced carbon monoxide efficiency by 7.2 percentage points but reduced nitrogen oxide efficiency by 7.3 percentage points.

Not all workers displaced from fossil fuel industries experience similar earnings trajectories after job loss

Transitioning to a low carbon economy will require gradually phasing out coal and other fossil fuels, as well as related jobs in these industries. A pair of studies examined the impact of job loss on the earnings of workers displaced from coal mining and the oil and gas industry. All told, five years after job loss, one in four workers displaced from coal mining from 2004 to 2011 saw their annual wages fall by at least $19,000. Meanwhile, one in four displaced workers saw their annual wages increase by at least $31,000 during that period.

Products

The product "Research to Insights: Social, Economic, and Health Perspectives on Climate Change" is now available as part of A Presentation Series from Statistics Canada About the Economy, Environment and Society (Catalogue number11-631-X).

Contact information

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).