Tara Zupancic provided a presentation regarding the Durham Region Climate and Health Vulnerability Assessment Updates. Highlights of the presentation included:
- rising health impacts associated with climate change;
- strategies to prevent climate-related health impacts and reduce health inequities;
- objectives of the Climate and Health Vulnerability Assessment, including improving understanding, reporting on available data, prioritizing equity, and establishing baseline indicators;
- details about the Extreme Heat Report;
- projections for local extreme heat events; and,
- determining priority populations.
A question and answer period ensued regarding:
- information about the delay between data collection and analysis and implementing action programs;
- whether actions were being taken by Durham Region and lower tier municipalities to address the needs of the most vulnerable populations, namely, those living in older apartment buildings with no air conditioning; and,
- initiating action programs focused on the seven low-income priority neighbourhoods identified by Durham Region.