John Baird served his first term as minister of the environment in Stephen Harper’s government in 2007 and 2008. At that time, climate change was near the forefront of public policy. There was a debate about whether mitigation measures alone could address the climate crisis and protect Canadians.

It was a real policy question: “How much to spend on adaptation versus mitigation?”

Baird was dismayed when departmental officials informed him that mitigation alone cannot suffice. He was told that Canadians would have to adapt to climate change, and it would cost a fair bit.

For those of us following the science closely, that was no surprise. It was obvious that negative impacts of climate change, particularly extreme weather events, were already occurring and were “baked into” the future climate system.

Looking back, I wonder why Baird was so reluctant to accept the need for climate adaptation.

Perhaps he, like most Canadians, believed in the possibility of a seamless transition to a new economy free from greenhouse gas-emitting substances. The hope was that technological advances would allow life to proceed pretty much as normal—cars, international travel, abundant consumer goods, imported foods, and so........

© rabble