Canary in a coal mine: perceptions of climate change risks and response options among Canadian mine operations

Abstract

A survey documenting how climate change is perceived and responded to by Canadian mine operations was administered to a random sample of practitioners working at mine sites across Canada. Key findings include: (1) Mines are sensitive to climatic hazards; (2) There is concern about climate change among mine practitioners, but the majority have not yet noticed climate change to be affecting operations; (3) Future climate change is expected to have negative impacts for mine operations; (4) Mines are responding to climate change mainly through efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but also through adaptation, although to a lesser degree; and (5) Knowledge of future climate change projections and impacts is limited, potentially constraining understanding of the nature of climate change risks. The survey compliments previous work documenting perceptions among upper level management on climate change in the Canadian mining industry. The results from both surveys are largely consistent, establishing that the mining sector perceives climate change as an emerging risk and is developing response options, but needs to invest more time and resources for adaptation to what are inevitable changes in climate. The results support the need for targeted in-depth research to assess the vulnerability of mining to climate change and to evaluate response options.

Communicating adaptation to climate change: the art and science of public engagement when climate change comes home

“…For a relatively small percentage of people, the issue is of utmost urgency, for the vast majority of people, however, when compared with other non‐environmental issues, it ranks near the bottom of common lists of concerns, and even in comparison with other issues framed as ‘environmental’, it is rarely as top‐of‐mind as clean water and healthy air. The disconnect lies in part in the perceived immediacy and weighed importance compared to current and more imaginable problems (for examples see Refs ).…”

Adaptation to climate change by organizations

“…Only a limited set of signals will be monitored, because these have proven to be reliable indicators with which to judge performance and because they conform to the cognitive frames held by the organization. This may explain why in many apparently vulnerable sectors there continue to be limited awareness of climate change impacts and the value of adaptations 45. Likewise, Hoffmann et al46 found that Swiss ski lift operators' adoption of adaptation measures was not correlated with their absolute (independently measured) climate vulnerability.…”

“…Other studies also found that in cases where information about climate change impacts was tailored to fit organizations' operating procedures, the significance of information was not always evident to organizations 34,45,46,49,50. This may be because more conventional—and therefore more easily recognizable—factors affecting organizational performance appear more important, or because the causal relationship between climate change impacts and organizational performance remained ambiguous.…”

Mapping Human Dimensions of Climate Change Research in the Canadian Arctic

“…There is potential for significant economic benefits with climate change as reduced sea ice extent opens up opportunities for enhanced shipping and oil and gas exploration (Stephenson et al 2011). Mining development is already expanding rapidly and future climatic conditions are projected to be beneficial for future expansion of the industry Ford et al 2011c), while posing risks for certain mining practices (e.g., use of ice roads for transport and reliance of permafrost for mine tailings). Climate change may also create new opportunities for commercial fishing and cruise tourism (Stewart et al 2007).…”