Prince George confronts stark climate trends as City unveils next phase of action plan

Jesse Labatiuk said winter temperatures in Prince George have risen substantially during that period.

“From 1942 to 2018, we’ve had significant increases, particularly in our winter temperatures, so an increase of 2.8 degrees for our average winter temperature, which is significant because normally with climate change, we’re looking at one degree, maybe two degrees of change. To see three degrees is significant.”

Even more startling was the increase in winter overnight temperatures.

According to the data presented to council, winter low temperatures have increased by approximately nine degrees, a figure Labatiuk described as “staggering.”

At the same time, precipitation patterns have shifted dramatically. Winter precipitation and snow accumulation have declined by more than 40 per cent, while summer precipitation has dropped by more than 28 per cent.

Those changes are among the climate trends city planners must consider as they develop strategies to prepare Prince George for future conditions.

The city’s efforts to address climate change date back several years. In May 2020, council approved the Climate Change Mitigation Plan, which established short, medium and long-term targets aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, buildings and waste management.

Mitigation measures focus on reducing activities that contribute to climate change, particularly the use of fossil fuels, in an effort to lessen future impacts.

The following year, council received the Climate Change Adaptation Report, which examined climate projections through 2080 and identified the most significant climate-related risks expected to affect Prince George.

That report was developed with input from community stakeholders and sought to identify ways to reduce vulnerabilities across a range of sectors, including economic, social, environmental and physical infrastructure systems.

As work on those long-term plans progressed, city officials determined a shorter-term implementation strategy was needed to bridge the gap between long-range goals and practical action.

That led to the development of the Climate Forward Implementation Strategy, covering the years 2020 to 2025.

With the first phase nearing completion, the city is now preparing to launch Phase 2 of the Climate Forward Action Plan, which will guide municipal actions from 2026 through 2030.

Labatiuk said the strategy is designed around manageable five-year increments that allow the city to focus on practical actions while maintaining progress toward longer-term objectives extending to 2050.

“We’ve broken things up into those manageable, bite-sized five-year phases where we can, instead of having things kind of so far-ranging out in the distance that people maybe forget about it, we can focus on these five-year increments,” he said.

“They’re bite-sized pieces and we’re able to focus on those small phases one at a time.”

The second phase of the action plan draws on several sources, including the original mitigation and adaptation plans, lessons learned during the first implementation phase, internal consultation with city departments, existing strategic plans and climate action initiatives undertaken in comparable communities.

City staff emphasized that many of the proposed actions are not entirely new initiatives. Instead, they build on work that is already underway across municipal departments.

Examples include implementing recommendations from the city’s Integrated Stormwater Management Plan, managing parks and urban tree canopies, encouraging active transportation, expanding the Natural Asset Inventory and Valuation project and finding additional ways to divert waste from the landfill at the Prince George Conference and Civic Centre.

The city says integrating climate considerations into existing municipal operations allows departments to align climate objectives with available resources and budgets.

While climate change is often discussed in environmental terms, municipal officials noted the issue also carries significant financial implications.

For local governments, changing weather patterns can directly affect infrastructure maintenance costs.

Labatiuk pointed to road maintenance as one example.

“If we’re seeing more freeze and thaw, that’s going to have an impact on our roads,” he said.

“We’re going to see an increase in potholes, increase in the number of repairs we’re going to need to do. So now that we have this information, how are we going to proactively address the aging infrastructure we see here in the community?”

Similar concerns extend to snow removal operations, stormwater systems and other municipal services that depend heavily on predictable weather conditions.

Having better climate data, officials say, allows the city to make more informed decisions about future infrastructure investments and long-term budget planning.

The update also provided council with a progress report on the first phase of the implementation strategy.

Of the 93 actionable tasks identified during Phase 1, city staff reported that 65 have been completed.

An additional eight tasks are considered substantially complete, while 20 remain unfinished.

Labatiuk characterized that record as a success, particularly given staffing challenges experienced during the implementation period.

“I think to get 65 of our 93 actionable tasks done over a five-year period is pretty good, especially considering that we actually didn’t have anyone in the environment role for about a year of that time frame,” he said.

“So I think we actually did quite good.”

As Prince George moves into the next phase of its climate strategy, city officials say the focus will remain on balancing practical short-term actions with the longer-term goal of making the community more resilient to a changing climate.

The latest climate data suggest those efforts will become increasingly important as the city faces warmer winters, less snowfall and greater pressure on aging infrastructure. Through the next five-year action plan, Prince George hopes to continue building on the progress already made while preparing for the challenges that lie ahead.

by Cheryl Jahn

Prince George confronts stark climate trends as City unveils next phase of action plan

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