Intact Adaptation Action Grants awarded to
projects that are helping people and communities adapt to floods,
wildfire and extreme heat
TORONTO, Nov. 24, 2020 /CNW/ - To help Canadians
adapt to climate change and build more resilient communities,
Intact Financial Corporation (TSX: IFC) is committing more than
$1.3 million to five Canadian
charitable partners. These partners are exploring real, concrete
solutions to make our communities, our people and our economy more
resilient.
"We need to act and reduce the effects of more frequent weather
events by helping people and our communities adapt," said
Diane Flanagan, Chair of the Intact
Foundation and Vice President of Corporate Affairs and
Communications, Intact Financial Corporation. "Our new partners are
introducing innovative approaches to managing the effects of
climate change and are helping to address avoidable human and
economic losses."
Climate change is leading to more frequent and severe weather.
In fact, extreme weather events in Canada have increased by a factor of five over
the past 30 years and insured losses have more than quadrupled.
And, the cost to society is much higher: for every $1 of insurable losses, there are $3 to $4 of
uninsured losses paid by governments, businesses and
individuals.
As a purpose-driven organization, Intact is here to help
customers and society adapt to the impacts of climate change.
Through the Intact Adaptation Action Grants, Intact is supporting
projects that are helping to protect people from the effects of
climate change — like floods, wildfires and extreme heat — and
building more resilient communities.
2020 Partners
- Coastal Action will use nature-based infrastructure– such as
living shorelines, tidal wetlands and artificial headlands – to
protect Mahone Bay, N.S., from
coastal erosion, floods and contaminated runoff.
- Credit Valley Conservation will test a smart blue roof on
their office headquarters to reduce flooding and urban heat and
promote rainwater reuse. It also involves learning how to scale
this technology for use in local communities and across
Canada.
- Evergreen, as part of its new Climate-Ready Schools program,
will create new design guidelines for school grounds using natural
infrastructure to prevent floods and protect against heat and
wind.
- Fondation en environnement et en développement durable (led by
CRE-Capitale Nationale) will use rain gardens, vegetated
ditches and green parking lots to reduce floods and urban heat in
Quebec City.
- Gathering Voices Society will pilot and test a proactive
fire management program with two First Nations communities in
British Columbia. It involves
surveying and monitoring forests, as well as prescribed burning and
mechanical thinning to reduce wildfires.
Quick Facts
- In 2015, Intact Financial Corporation helped establish the
Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation at the University of Waterloo, committing nearly
$10 million over 10 years.
- In 2017 and 2018, Intact previously invested $2.3 million in 16 charitable partners through
the Intact Adaptation Action Grants
- Severe weather across Canada
cost $1.3 billion in insured
damage in 2019, according to Catastrophe Indices and Quantification
Inc. and the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC). It was the seventh highest in
insured losses on record.
- In Canada, the annual cost of
flooding will nearly triple from US$2.4
billion in 2010 to US$6.6
billion by 2030 if adaptation measures aren't taken. And the
number of Canadians affected by floods will grow from 200,000 in
2010 to more than 350,000 in 20301.
- About 60% of all Canadian cities, towns, settlements and
Indigenous communities have a significant amount of land that
interfaces with wildland and is therefore at risk from
wildfires2.
- Most communities threatened by wildfires are in regions whose
burn areas are projected to increase by 50% to 200% due to climate
change.3
- Every dollar invested in disaster mitigation and climate change
adaptation generates a savings of six
dollars in future disaster costs.4
- Nature-based adaptation solutions have multiple benefits,
including regulating water flows, protecting shorelines, and
cooling cities. They can also provide one-third of the climate
mitigation needed between now and 2030 to keep global warming below
2⁰C5
- Natural assets like wetlands, forests and ponds help
communities in Canada better
manage flood risk, while providing a range of other ecosystem
benefits, and at savings ranging from $200,000 to $414
million6 compared to built infrastructure.
About Intact Financial Corporation
Intact Financial
Corporation (TSX: IFC) is the largest provider of property and
casualty (P&C) insurance in Canada and a leading provider of specialty
insurance in North America, with
over CAD$11 billion in total annual
premiums. The Company has approximately 16,000 employees who serve
more than five million personal, business and public sector clients
through offices in Canada and the
U.S.
In Canada, Intact distributes
insurance under the Intact Insurance brand through a wide network
of brokers, including its wholly-owned subsidiary BrokerLink, and
directly to consumers through belairdirect. Frank Cowan Company, a
leading MGA, distributes public entity insurance programs including
risk and claims management services in Canada.
In the U.S., Intact Insurance Specialty Solutions provides a
range of specialty insurance products and services through
independent agencies, regional and national brokers, and
wholesalers and managing general agencies. Products are
underwritten by the insurance company subsidiaries of Intact
Insurance Group USA, LLC.
___________________________
1 World Resources Institute, The
number of people affected by floods will double by 2030 based
onAqueduct Floods Methodology, April 2020
|
2 Institute for Catastrophic Loss
Reduction, Estimating the benefits of Climate Resilient
Buildings and Core Public Infrastructure, February
2020
|
3
Canadian Wildland Fire Strategy: a 10-year review and renewed
call to action, Canadian Council of Forest Ministers,
2016
|
4 National Institute of Building
Sciences, Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves: 2017 Interim
Report, January 2018
|
5 Global Commission on Adaptation,
"Adapt Now: A global call for leadership on climate resilience,"
September 2019
|
6 Municipal Natural Assets
Initiative, Cohort 2 National Project Overview, February
2020
|
SOURCE Intact Financial Corporation