The Select Committee on Climate Change announced that it would hold 11 public meetings across New Brunswick to hear from citizens on how the province as a whole should tackle climate change.
The meetings are set for later this month.
Liberal MLA Andrew Harvey, the all-party committee's chair, said that he was “overwhelmed” by the public’s interest in discussing climate change and that he is looking forward to the next step of the consultation process.
The public meetings come a month after the legislative committee concluded a series of hearings from climate change experts in Fredericton, reported
CBC News. The experts, using data from their observations, hypothesised a grim future for New Brunswick.
Paul Kovacs, of the federal government and insurance industry-funded Institute of Catastrophic Loss Reduction, said current trends suggest that even more extreme weather is in store for the province. He also noted that the number of times the temperature exceeds 30°C is going to climb as well.
In his report, Kovacs also pointed out that—for the first time in recent memory—insurers are paying out more for claims related to flooded basements caused by heavy rainfall than they are for house fires.
The hearings will be held in the following communities and on the following dates:
- Aug. 26 – Perth-Andover
- Aug. 29 – Atholville
- Aug. 29 – Shippagan
- Aug. 30 – Moncton
- Aug. 31 – Sackville
- Sept. 1 – Fredericton
- Sept. 2 – Fredericton
- Sept. 6 – Saint John
- Sept. 7 – Saint John
- Sept. 8 – Fredericton
- Sept. 9 – Fredericton
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