FINAL REPORT Project Title: Design and Delivery of the Northern Ontario Training and Consultation Session “Accessing & Interpreting Climate Change Information for Decision-Making in Northern Ontario Project Number: CCMM-1516-004 Recipient: Mining Innovation Rehabilitation and Applied Research Corporation (MIRARCO) Project End Date: November 30, 2015 Ministry Project Contact: Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) Environmental Monitoring and Reporting Branch 125 Resources Road, Toronto, Ontario, M9P 3V6 Dr. John Liu, Senior Science Advisor on Climate Change [email protected] Project Objective The Project objective was for the Recipient to develop and deliver a 1-day in person training session in Northern Ontario, with up to 50 participants. More specifically, the anticipated outcomes were to: a) Familiarize participants with key sources of climate data and climate change information, specific to Northern Ontario; b) Describe the mechanics of accessing and conducting basic manipulations of the data; c) Conduct a consultation exercise to gauge specific climate information needs of participants; d) Provide up-to-date, current information on the science of climate change in plain language for the broader public. Actions Undertaken Based on the positive feedback from attendees to the Toronto session, the Recipient delivered a training session in Sudbury to further engage provincial, municipal and other stakeholders and decision makers in Northern Ontario in the inclusion of climate change information in decision making. It also sought feedback on the extent to which climate change information is currently used, sources of that information and how the information can be improved in Northern Ontario. This Project supported the continued improvement of climate data communication and interpretation between climate scientists and practitioners. The training session was 6 hours in duration and was attended by 30 individuals, representing a range of fields and disciplines in municipal planning, policy development, conservation, natural resources management, and more. Invitations to the session were delivered to 16 separate organizations, with a reach of over 50 individuals, including: Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs; Ministry of Environment and Climate Change; Ministry of Northern Development and Mines; Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry; Ministry of Transportation; Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing; Mattagami Region Conservation Authority; Nickel District Conservation Authority; North Bay-Mattawa Region Conservation Authority; Lakehead Region Conservation Authority; Sault Ste. Marie Region Conservation Authority; City of Sault Ste. Marie; City of Greater Sudbury; Greater Sudbury Climate Consortium; City of Greater Sudbury-Earth Care Sudbury Initiatives; and Ontario Forest and Research Institute. The sessions were located at Science North in Sudbury and were delivered in-person by members of the Project team. Niche expertise in the field of climate data information development and climate risk decision-making from Risk Sciences International (RSI) were applied through their sharing of content developed for a similar, previous training session held in Toronto. Their training material was expanded and tailored to suit the Northern Ontario context. This Recipient developed and delivered a training session that was: Tailored to Northern Ontario decision-makers with climate-sensitive portfolios, who are scientifically literate but non-experts with respect to climate and climate change; Designed to familiarize participants with key sources of climate and climate change information specific to Northern Ontario, including the mechanics of accessing and conducting basic manipulations of the data; Designed to provide key background information and facilitate exercises and discussions through welcomed questions and comments throughout the presentations. In total, 8 questions were asked from attendees and was captured by the note taker. The background information was related to: o Current climate and its historical trends and uncertainties; o Climate change modeling and theory, including but not limited to: . state of the science; . time/space resolution issues in modeled and empirical datasets and statistics; . characterizing climate means vs. climate extremes; Included a two-part series of case studies, focused on infrastructure and planning. The goal of the case studies was to provide examples of the application of climate data and climate information in practice throughout North American communities. Specifically, the case studies covered the following topics: o Legal implications to adapt o Policy and planning acts, climate change tradeoffs o Requirements for resilient communities, infrastructure and landscapes o Future risks o Reducing climate risks o Examples of projections and adaptation put into practice o Municipal and land use planning o Engineering forensics, codes, and standards 2 Design and Delivery of the Northern Ontario Training and Consultation Session “Accessing & Interpreting Climate Change Information for Decision-Making in Northern Ontario CCMM-1516-004 – Final Report MIRARCO/OCCIAR o Extreme rainfall events – design values, ecosystem services o Climate services in support of adaptation Use of climate model ensembles in decision-making, including but not limited to: o what can and cannot be “answered” using climate model ensembles and other approaches to identifying climatic change; o implications of, and tricks and challenges of working with climate means versus climate extremes in decision-making; and, o characterization of uncertainties. Consultative to gauge specific climate information needs of participants through a 45-minute discussion period. Participants were provided a list of five questions two days prior to the session in order to prepare and encourage them to reflect on their climate information needs throughout the training session (see Appendix A for the list of questions). The stakeholder consultation was facilitated by Al Douglas who posed each question to the group; the discussion and responses were captured by a note taker. The format of the discussion was designed to encourage idea-sharing and interaction among participants and held no limitation on the time or extent to which they could comment/provide feedback. The Recipient also developed and delivered a public information session that provided information on the science of climate change in simpler terms designed for a broad public audience. The public information session took place over 1 hour in the evening on the same day as the training session and was attended by 21 members of the public Performance Measures and Targets The following table outline the project objectives and expectations, and provides an explanation of the performance results. Performance Performance Performance Results Measures Targets Number of 50 30 participants at the 16 organizations; 45 people were invited. With general training session circulation included, the invitation had a reach of over 50 people. 29 people registered for the event 27 attended the event Course evaluation 20 22 forms completed for the training session Course evaluation Participants Participants were asked to rate their level of knowledge on forms for the improved their the source of climate data and climate information prior to training session knowledge on the session and again upon completing the session, on a current status of scale from ‘very poor’ to ‘excellent’. climate science in Prior to taking the course, almost half of participants Ontario, climate responded as having a ‘fair’ level of knowledge (45 per cent). However, upon completing the course, this 3 Design and Delivery of the Northern Ontario Training and Consultation Session “Accessing & Interpreting Climate Change Information for Decision-Making in Northern Ontario CCMM-1516-004 – Final Report MIRARCO/OCCIAR data availability and number dropped to 4 per cent, and the number of application. responses for ‘good’ increased from 23 per cent to 45 per cent. One respondent provided the following comment: “I have a clearer understanding of complex issues/data”. Seventy-seven per cent of participants would recommend the course to others. Course evaluation 5-10 specific Specific climate information needs were polled during the forms current climate stakeholder consultation. The following question was information needs asked: what additional material would you like presented in the course? More information targeted for policy-making; Examples from a broad number of sectors (forestry, mining, potential climate change impacts); Examples of success stories; A close walk-through of another municipality example; Help on municipal adaptation plans; A focus on how climate change impacts industry in northern Ontario; Data related information applied at a local scale; Ecosystem sustainability; Sector-specific data-related applications. Consultation/disc 5-10 current Question: ussion climate What resources do you need to manage climate change information needs uncertainties in your decision-making? E.g. web-based content for general or specific information, information extension services, risk management frameworks, etc. Communication, education and outreach; Online resources; Posters or information sheets for communities, similar to those resources that are provided to teachers; Resources for communicating climate change information; Synonyms or alternate terms