The University of Windsor is hosting the third Climate Action Symposium Friday with leaders from all the municipalities in Essex County.
The Windsor-Essex Climate Change Collaborative, Essex Region Conservation Authority, Centre for Cities, and the Cities and Climate Action Initiative are co-hosting the symposium.
Both Windsor and Essex County councils recently passed resolutions declaring a climate change emergency.
Higher than normal water levels on Lake Erie, Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River caused widespread flooding for those along the shore. Over the past two years, the region has also flooded during storms considered once-a-century-type events.
Essex Town Council received a report last week outlining what climate change could mean for that municipality and is waiting for a second report detailing what actions it can take to mitigate damage.
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Friday's symposium will not only go over how climate change has already impacted residents in the region but will attempt to quantify the social, health, and economic costs of doing nothing.
Now that Windsor and Essex County have officially acknowledged the local impact of climate change, another session will take a look at what municipalities can do to put action to words.
The Faculty of Engineering at the University of Windsor will look at ways how technology and policy can work hand-in-hand to mitigate environmental changes.
Amandeep Hans from the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit will discuss the health impacts climate change is having, from heat-related illness to the increase of vector-borne disease.