BCCRS2025 | Climate Resilience Summit 2025

About

A Call to Action for a Climate and Disaster Resilient BC

The BC Climate Resilience Summit 2025 was a 1.5 day event designed to foster cross-sectoral dialogue with the ultimate aim of enhancing resilience across various sectors. It brought together stakeholders from government, academia, insurance and finance, small and medium size businesses, and other key industries and sectors to explore cross-cutting themes in climate risk management, low carbon resilience and disaster risk reduction. The summit featured a lineup of leaders in the climate resilience space and resulted in a communique that clearly outlines needs and opportunities for advancing climate and disaster resilience in the province.

We were grateful to host this event from the traditional and unceded territories of the Coast Salish people; xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh). We welcomed participation and leadership from all indigenous people and were proud to offer participation support for all who wanted to contribute.

The Full Program is available here

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Session Highlights are as follows:

*Welcome to the territory with Squamish Ocean Canoe Family

* Interactive Workshop- Retrofit Financing: Mobilizing Blended Finance to Support the Health, Safety & Resilience of Residents Living in Apartments & Condos in BC. Led by Shauna Sylvester, Urban Climate Leadership.

* Climate Science, Climate Scenarios & Showcase of Local, Regional, and National Risk Assessments: Moderated by Tamsin Mills (PINNA Sustainability)

*Leadership in Climate Action: Sharing Lessons Learned in Building Coalitions for Low Carbon Resilience: Moderated by: Kookai Chaimahawong (Sauder Centre for Climate & Business Solutions)

*Keynote Talk/Q&A with John Vaillant, Vancouver-based author of "Fire Weather: The Making of a Beast": Moderated Q/A with Justin Bull (Sauder Centre for Climate & Business Solutions)

* Transformations to Coexist with Wildfire in BC: Moderated by: Dr. Robin Freeman (SFU Centre for Dialogue, Mitigating Wildfire Initiative)

*The Climate Crisis is a Health Crisis: Supporting Health & Well-being in an Age of Disruption: Moderated by Arianna Cruz (Vancouver Coastal Health)

* Insurance Affordability, Availability & Advancing the Incentivization Agenda in BC. Fireside chat with Maryam Golnaraghi (Geneva Association), Sarah Miller (Canadian Climate Institute) & Ujala Qadir (Climate Bonds Inititaive): Moderated by George Benson (ZEIC)

* Risk Governance in BC: Unlocking the Capital & Building the Collaborations Needed to Build a More Resilient Climate Future: Moderated by Jessica Shoubridge (Principal & Founder, Thrive Consulting)

* Innovation Showcase, Featuring:

Climate Insights Tool for Medium-small Communities in Canada, with Josh Kelly (ICLEI)
Multi-hazard Climate Resilient Retrofits, with Sharmalene Mendes Millard (Partners for Action)
Realizing Resilient Buildings in B.C. A Toolkit for Local Governments, with Wilma Leung (BC Housing)
Low Carbon Resilience Retrofitting: from the Parcel to the Portfolio with Julianne Pickrell-Barr (PRISM Engineering)
and more!

Date
1:00pm - 7:30pm,
March 3rd, 2025

9:00am - 6:30pm,
March 4th, 2025

In person
Day 1 and Day 2:
UBC Robson Square Theatre, Vancouver

The traditional and unceded territories of the Coast Salish people; xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh)

(Times subject to change)

Building on the URBC Legacy...

BCCRS 2025 in the Media!

Mini-story featured on CJSF 90.1 FM (March 11, 2025)

Listen Here!

Professional Learning Credits

Engineers and Geoscientists of BC: One hour of activity at the Summit is eligible as one informal professional development hour for Engineers and Geoscientists BC registrants.

AIBC registrants are eligible to self-report for learning units (LUs).

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Featuring Contributions From:

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Don Iveson served as Edmonton's 35th Mayor from 2013 to 2021, championing a long-term vision to create a more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient future for the next generation. Under his leadership, Edmonton advanced transformation initiative, including the pro-density City Plan, the Energy Transition Strategy with Canada's first municipal carbon budget, and a nation-leading flood mitigation strategy. On the national stage, Don's tenure as Chair of Canada's Big City Mayors saw him shaping the National Housing Strategy, driving commitments to end chronic homelessness, and steering cities through the COVID crisis. A passionate advocate for reconciliation, he served as an Honourary Witness to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and implemented Canada's first trauma-informed Indigenous awareness training for a major city government.

Since retiring from municipal office, Don founded Civic Good, a public policy advisory practice focused on climate resilience, housing affordability, and governance innovation, with clients ranging from startups to governments. He serves as Executive Advisor for Climate Investing and Community Resilience at Co-operators and as Chairperson of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Recently, he co-chaired the Task Force on Housing and Climate and completed a two-year appointment as a School of Cities Canadian Urban Leader at the University of Toronto, where he co-developed the Metropolitan Mindset initiative. A dedicated volunteer, Don serves as Board Co-Chair of the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness. With deep roots in Edmonton, Don remains committed to building vibrant, equitable communities across Canada, driven by a vision of a better future for his children and all Canadians.

Don Iveson,

The Co-operators