The Socio-Economics of Ontario due to Climate Change:

The government is paying and will continue doing so for the effects of climate change. If action is not taken to minimize the effects people have on the climate, taxes will increase as more bad then good will come from it in Ontario. Ontario’s climate, as of now, is primarily continental with cold winters and mild summers. In Southern Ontario, the climate relies almost entirely on the Great Lakes. They make for high precipitation which makes this region particularly good for agriculture and human settlement. This could explain why there is such a high amount of green gas emission, Enviro-Canada informs, “The largest provincial contributors were Alberta with 31 per cent of Canada's total emissions, and Ontario with 28 per cent.” This fact alone justifies the dispute that Ontario will be one of the most affected economy-wise out of all the sectors of Canada because it has to make the second largest change as a province from the rest of Canada.
Environment Canada states, “The social and economic sectors being most affected by climate include water resources, human health, the built environment, energy, transportation, tourism and recreation, forestry, agriculture, construction and finance.” Any temperature change can have substantial change on regions and it is predicted temperatures will continue rising drastically. Because of this, the Ontario government is having to set up expensive programs to decrease anything that directly relates to the increasing climate change, such as GHG (green house gas) emissions due to transportation and the burning of coal and natural gases. Another economic downfall directly related to the changing climate of Ontario are the building costs. “4% of building costs in Toronto are attributed to adaption to current climate.” Freeze-thaw cycles, UV rays and acid rain wear down surfaces made of things such as concrete, because of this roadwork needs to be done more often and keeping buildings safe costs a lot of money. Also, it is well known that heating and cooling causes houses and buildings to expand/contract. Climate change causing temperature changes correlates directly with this and, once again, costs a lot of money to keep up with. Agriculture and forestry will have a problem with acid rain, however they will fluctuate economy-wise because growing periods will increase due to the rising temperatures. This means more money short term but the increase in weather will also kill off certain types of plants making them impossible to grow in Ontario’s changing climate. In the long term, Ontario will have more losses then gains due to the changing climate. Unless something is drastically changed in this region, its economy will suffer the consequences along with many others such as environment, health, etc.