Climate change does not affect everyone equally.
The communities hit hardest are those already living with the least capacity to recover: people in precarious housing, on low incomes, facing barriers that existed long before the first flood or heatwave. In Canada’s cities, that reality is getting worse.
It is widely recognized across climate science, policy, and international frameworks that those bearing the greatest burden of climate change are overwhelmingly those who have contributed least to causing it.
WE CENTRE EQUITY FOR THREE MAIN REASONS:
MORAL
Ensuring equity-denied communities can survive and thrive is simply the right thing to do, and is a reflection of the values and commitments that define us as a society.
COLLECTIVE
When some people are unprotected, it creates risk and scarcity for everyone.
PRACTICAL
Supporting what equity-denied communities are already doing moves us toward proven solutions faster.
Why top-down approaches fall short
Many of Canada’s climate programs — home retrofit incentives, EV rebates, emergency preparedness frameworks — are designed for people who own their homes, have access to credit, and have time to navigate complex applications. Most equity-denied communities do not. The people bearing the greatest burden of climate change are often the last to benefit from the systems built to address it.
This gap runs deeper than consultation. The economic incentives that shape most climate policy reward market-based solutions and measurable returns — leaving community-led approaches chronically underfunded and overlooked. And when the communities most affected are excluded from designing the systems meant to serve them, those systems fail to reflect what actually works.
During the 2021 BC heat dome, 619 people died. 98% died indoors. 67% were 70 or older. More than half lived alone. If anyone had checked on them, many would likely be alive today.
- In Canada, average temperatures have risen by 1.9°C from 1948 to 2022 — twice the global rate.
- Flood disaster costs are projected at $673 million annually in federal assistance programs.
- About 81% of Canada’s Indigenous land reserves are located in flood-prone areas.
- 52% of low-income Canadians do not have money left over at the end of the month to save, and 58% would be unable to come up with money for an unforeseen expense.
What communities are already building
The communities bearing the greatest burden of climate change have been building resilience for years, through mutual aid networks, trusted relationships, community organizing, and locally-developed knowledge about what works in their unique conditions. This care infrastructure is essential. Most top-down climate responses fail to recognize or resource it.
Equity-denied communities are building this anyway, often despite barriers. The question is whether systems will finally get behind what communities are already showing works — or whether communities will build the alternatives themselves. That is the gap the Lab is working to close.
