Climate Resilience Report
The 2023 resilience report demonstrates that Saskatchewan continues to build its resilience to a changing global climate.
Resilience is the ability of a system, such as a community, ecosystem, or province, to cope with, adapt to and recover from stress or change while continuing to grow.
Under Saskatchewan's Prairie Resilience climate change strategy, the provincial government set the intention to track and report progress in making our province more resilient to climate change.
The Climate Resilience Measurement Framework, released in November 2018, fulfills the intention to advance provincial resilience in the face of a changing global climate.
The framework is a collaboration among 14 ministries and agencies, and tracks progress on 22 measures across five key areas of focus: natural systems, physical infrastructure, economic sustainability, community preparedness and human well-being. The first resilience report was released in April 2019, presenting baselines and targets for these measures. The 2023 report continues with reporting on the status and trends for each measure, and is the fifth annual report for the framework.
The resilience measures are assessed as either good, fair or poor. Twenty measures in this year's report are classified as good, and two measures are classified as fair. Three additional measures, not included in this report, are being reassessed to ensure they continue to meaningfully contribute to our overall resilience goals. There are no measures with a poor status. The report illustrates areas of success as well as opportunities for growth as we continue to build a more resilient Saskatchewan.
Read the 2023 Resilience Report
Key Areas of Focus
Multiple systems need to be strengthened to enhance the resilience of the province to climate change. This includes the ability of our natural systems (including our land, water, and forests), physical infrastructure, economic sustainability, community preparedness, and the well-being of people to adapt and thrive in a changing environment and low-carbon economy.
These five key resilience areas are interconnected and promote resilience through interactions that benefit each other. For example:
- Responsible management of our natural resources sustains habitat for plants and animals, while also providing ecological goods and services that support the province's economy and quality of life.
- Strengthening resilience in our highway infrastructure promotes reliable transportation for people and for businesses, while also connecting people and communities to critical goods and services during emergency events.