Sectors of Focus

ClimateWest works across different sectors to support communities, governments, businesses, and non-profits to better address the risks and opportunities generated by a changing climate. For each sector, ClimateWest outlines our approach and curates sector-relevant resources. For more resources, see our Resources page.

Agriculture

As a core part of the Prairie economy, the agricultural sector needs to understand and prepare for risk and vulnerability, identify emerging opportunities, and assess ways to increase resilience.

Municipalities

As the sites where people and businesses live and work, communities across the Prairies are facing the realities of a changing climate head-on. Municipalities across the Prairies will need to be “climate-ready,” preparing for floods, droughts, fire, heat waves, and other extreme weather.

Indigenous Communities

The Prairie Provinces are home to over 380,000 First Nation peoples. The close relationship that Indigenous peoples have with the land—economically, culturally, and spiritually—and the existing inequalities Indigenous populations often face in relation to non-Indigenous Canadians, makes them particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

Water Management

The absence and presence of water is central to Prairie history–be it a multi-year drought or a 100-year flood. As a region that already experiences a great deal of seasonal variation, a reliable and predictable water supply cannot be taken for granted with the added stress of a changing climate.

Infrastructure

Climate change will impact built society and the structures we rely on to live in the Prairies. Almost half of all roads in Canada are found on the Prairies, where they are lifelines for communities both large and small. The Prairie infrastructure will be impacted by catastrophic extreme weather events, and accelerated decay in infrastructure integrity.

Health

Climate change challenges human well-being directly and indirectly by affecting physical, mental, and emotional health, as well as collective community health.