Research
My research is all about helping reduce the impacts of climate change through adaptation.
Although climate change is bringing new and more extreme hazards, governments, communities, and businesses can take action to reduce the impacts and costs. Effective actions hinge on knowing where and why there are vulnerabilities though. Both quantitative modelling and community-engaged approaches are required to better understand vulnerabilities and adapt.
I specialize in three areas of climate change adaptation: 1) modelling climate change costs and adaptation benefits; 2) analyzing why disasters occur; and 3) assessing climate change impacts on health.
My work frequently includes both quantitative data as well as insights and knowledge from community engagements. As a white man with advantages others don’t have, I strive to be aware of this privilege, especially since many of those most vulnerable to climate change are apart of communities that have, and are, treated unjustly.
Rigorous cost assessments of climate change impacts are essential for policymakers to prioritize adaptation strategies effectively.
My past work has supported return on investment calculations and policy development by various governments across Canada. My modelling usually draws from the newest climate data, dose-response/exposure-response functions, and social data to calculate both the costs of inaction and the benefits of proactive adaptation.
I work to ground my modelling and analysis in the lived realities of communities experiencing impacts. This bottom-up approach supports costing both indirect and direct impacts and can be used to articulate non-economic impacts such as cultural impacts.
Related publications:
As the frequency and intensity of hazards escalate, there is an increasing need to understanding the root causes behind disasters.
Post-disaster forensics involves the systematic analysis of disasters to unravel the chain of events leading up to and during the event. This forensic approach is essential in identifying vulnerabilities and reducing risk of future disasters.
My work draws from methods established by Dr. Ian Burton as well as operating procedures used by the National Transportation Safety Board and the insurance industry.
Related publications
I have expertise in environmental health research, particularly impacts on acute illnesses and emergency management. I have worked for the past decade on safety for Inuit hunters and land-user. I have also been involved in a number of ecological timeseries analyses of health records, socioeconomic data, and food security data.
Related publications:
Clark, D.G., Ford, J.D. Emergency response in a rapidly changing Arctic. 2017. CMAJ.
