Canada is obliged to describe, through a “national communication,” the progress it has made in supporting actions taken domestically and internationally to address climate change through implementing international commitments prescribed under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). In May, an Expert Review Team, assigned by the UNFCCC, undertook an in-depth review of Canada's fifth national communication. The review, coordinated by Environment Canada’s International Affairs Branch, involved presenting additional information that was not captured in the fifth national communication to the review team. Additional information presented, to support articles 4 and 5 under the UNFCCC (research and systematic observations), focused on: climate processes, modelling and prediction, scenarios and impacts, climate analyses, variability and extremes, and atmospheric, terrestrial, oceanic, and space-based systematic observations. Information on scientific assessments of climate change, national and international collaborations, capacity building, funding, and information for decision making was also presented to support articles 4 and 5. The Expert Review Team concluded that significant progress in the scientific understanding of climate change has been made since Canada’s Fourth National Communication. They also noted the active participation of Canada in global research activities on climate change, and commended Canada for its improved reporting in many sections.

Contact: Marjorie Shepherd, 416-739-4230, Marjorie.Shepherd@ec.gc.ca, Climate Research Division