Climate Change Adaptation

A resilient city for a changing climate

Edmonton’s climate is already changing. We are experiencing hotter summers, more wildfire smoke, heavier rainstorms, and drier winters. These shifts affect our health, homes, businesses, natural environments, and fundamentally alter our way of life.

The City of Edmonton is responding with a clear focus on adaptation—taking action now to prepare for current and future climate impacts. These actions also bring co-benefits, such as cleaner air, greener neighbourhoods, and healthier communities.

Edmonton’s Adaptation Strategy

Our Climate Resilient Edmonton: Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan provides a roadmap to help the city manage climate risks. The plan is reviewed every five years and guides actions that protect:

• People - protecting health, safety, community, and culture during extreme events through emergency planning.
• Infrastructure - designing neighbourhoods, buildings, roads, and drainage systems that are resilient to changing the climate.
• Nature - strengthening parks, trees, river valleys, and wetlands to buffer climate impacts.
• Economy and Services - ensuring business and city service continuity, even amidst disruptions.

Key Ongoing Adaptation Actions

• Poor Air Quality Events Preparedness: To ensure residents remain safe and connected during heatwaves and wildfire smoke events, cooling centres, water stations, and N95 masks are available at various facilities including libraries, recreation centres, outdoor pools, Muttart Conservatory, and Valley Zoo.
• Tree Planting and Naturalization: Trees offer many benefits, such as shade, reduced flood risks, improved air quality, and carbon absorption. The City aims to plant two million trees by 2030, expanding both tree plantations and naturalization areas, and to increase urban canopy coverage by 20 per cent by 2071.
• Wildfire Resilience: A Wildland Urban Interface Wildfire Risk Strategy is being developed, focusing on the FireSmart discipline, to protect neighbourhoods and infrastructure near forests and grasslands. This initiative will also safeguard air quality and mitigate health risks.
• Climate Resilient Neighbourhood Design: The Climate Resilience Planning and Development Action Plan initiative is leading 15 actions focused on Resilient Neighbourhoods, Resilient Site and Landscaping Design, Resilient Buildings, and Resilient City Processes. This initiative ensures new developments incorporate shade, green landscaping, and stronger building standards to withstand extreme weather. This work advances the city’s ongoing efforts to address climate change, as detailed in Climate Resilient Edmonton: Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan and Edmonton’s Community Energy Transition Strategy And Action Plan.
• Change For Climate: Whether you own or rent, our Change For Climate guides offer excellent tips for reducing environmental impact and even saving some money.

Edmonton: A city built to last

Adaptation efforts extend beyond risk mitigation, fostering a healthier, greener and more connected urban environment. Through strategic tree planting, the development of resilient neighbourhoods and proactive emergency programs, Edmonton's future is secured as a safe, vibrant and livable city for generations.