The Government of Yukon is partnering with Yukon University on a project that'll work to improve the Yukon’s capacity to identify and manage the impacts of climate change on our buildings. The project will run until 2024.
The Yukon is seeing climate change hazards at a higher rate and with higher severity than our southern counterparts. We're experiencing warmer weather with more rain and snow. Floods, wildfires and thawing permafrost are only some of the ways climate change can damage our roads and buildings.
Our joint project with Yukon University is called “Building Resilience Initiative”. Through it, we’ll develop tools to help us better understand how we can prepare the Yukon’s buildings for climate change. We’ll pilot these tools on Yukon government facilities. By doing this, we can make sure they’re suitable for buildings across Yukon communities. Project outcomes include:
- an assessment of the exposure of buildings to flood, wildfire and permafrost risk;
- a rapid assessment tool to evaluate building resilience to climate hazards;
- quality control processes; and
- training materials for building management and construction professionals.
The Building Resilience Initiative is funded by:
- Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada’s Climate Change Preparedness in the North Program;
- the Government of Yukon; and
- Yukon University.
This project addresses 2 home and building action items in Our Clean Future, the government's strategy for addressing climate change:
H10: Develop and implement a plan by 2024 to conduct routine monitoring of the structural condition of Government of Yukon buildings located on permafrost.
H15: Continue to conduct climate risk assessments of all major building projects over $10 million that are built or funded by the Government of Yukon.