Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Plan
Project Update, June 1, 2026:
Thank you, everyone, for taking the time to share your thoughts on the proposed Plan framework, themes, and strategies!
The project team will now review your input to refine the draft Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Plan, and will finalize the draft and work on the implementation plan. Project milestones will be posted on this page. Please stay tuned!
New Westminster is already experiencing the impacts of climate change. We are seeing more frequent and extreme weather events and natural disasters such as floods, storms, drought, heavy rainfall, extreme heat, and more. These events can disrupt daily life, cause damage to our homes, buildings, and infrastructure, and affect both physical and mental health.
In 2019, New Westminster’s Council declared a Climate Emergency and endorsed the Seven Bold Steps for Climate Action that guides us to moving the community towards a zero-carbon future by 2050. As part of the City’s ongoing efforts to reduce its contribution to climate change, the City adopted an updated Community Energy and Emissions Plan (CEEP 2050) in 2022. A key action identified in the CEEP 2050 is to develop a climate change resilience strategy to coordinate greenhouse gas mitigation and adaptation efforts to help the City and the New West community prepare for the climate impacts we are experiencing today and into the future.
In May 2025, the City of New Westminster began developing its first adaptation-focused plan, the Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Plan (CCARP). This Plan will help develop solutions to cater to the needs of the community, and guide how to allocate resources to adapt to a changing climate to build a safer, healthier New Westminster for everyone.
Through the Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Plan, the City will outline a vision for New Westminster’s future that is:
Resilient:
Ensuring our community, infrastructure, and environment are ready for climate change and able to handle and recover from extreme weather events and natural disasters like floods, heavy rainfall, and extreme heat.
Equitable:
All community members—especially those most affected by climate change—have access to the supports and resources they need to stay safe and recover from climate events.
Adaptable:
Actions identified are flexible and can change as needed, and designed to work even if the future turns out differently than expected.
The development of the CCARP, will identify:
- Climate change-related hazard events: dangerous events made worse by climate change that we expect to see more of in New Westminster like floods, heatwaves, or storms that can harm people, nature, buildings, and infrastructure.
- Climate impacts: negative effects of climate change, including impacts to mental and physical health, damages to buildings and infrastructure, and a loss of plants and animals.
- Actionable solutions: initiatives that are easy to measure, specific, and can be implemented to support climate resilience in the City and the New West community.
If you are interested in learning more about the climate change context for the City of New Westminster, please check out the document titled "Summary of Preliminary Research to Inform the Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Plan."
How can I engage?
In this round of community engagement, we want to hear your thoughts on the themes and strategies and if they reflect your needs and priorities for climate resilience. Share your feedback through any or multiple of these opportunities!
Note: The same information and questions will be shared at the open house and all pop-ups. There is no need to attend all opportunities. Choose the option and locations that work best for you.
We are committed to hearing from any New West residents regardless of their backgrounds, whether they are long-time New West residents or newcomers, or young or old. Your diverse perspectives will help shape our community’s sustainable future. The City recognizes that everyone experiences the changing climate and its impacts differently. In addition to the broader public engagement, the project team is working closely with groups of New West residents who may have been and will likely be affected by these impacts disproportionately, such as seniors, renters, and those with mobility or health needs.
Phases
Integrating Feedback and Reporting What We Heard
Project Update, January 23, 2026:
Thank you for sharing your stories and experiences living through climate change impacts in New West. The Engagement Summary report is ready for your review!
Click here to review the report
The project team is now reviewing community input, along with technical research and analysis, to develop solutions to include in the Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Plan. The draft plan will be shared with the community this spring to make sure your input is incorporated thoroughly. Stay tuned for more information about how to review the draft plan and share your opinions!
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Project Update - October 5, 2025:
Thank you to everyone who took part in this round of engagement on the Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Plan. Staff are wrapping up final engagement sessions with key community groups in New Westminster and will soon begin preparing the Engagement Summary Report. Please check back here in the coming weeks to read the report from this phase of the project.
In the meantime, take a look at a few highlights from the online survey results below ⬇️
How prepared do you/ your household feel to respond to climate change-related hazard events?
Phase milestones:
- Engagement Reporting Period: The engagement summary report from the first round of community engagement will be posted here.
- Conduct a climate-informed Hazard Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (HRVA)
Upcoming and ongoing events
Past events
Event date: May 22nd, 2026 at 10:00 PM to May 23rd, 2026 at 12:30 AM.
920 Ewen Avenue
Event date: May 19th, 2026 from 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM.
620 Eighth Street
Event date: May 9th, 2026 from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM.
777 Columbia Street