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Adapting to climate change faster will save Canada billions, new analysis says

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OTTAWA -

A new climate report warns that Canadians will see lower incomes and a choice between higher taxes or fewer government services if there isn't more effort to adapt to the changing climate.

The Canadian Climate Institute says its analysis of the costs of a changing climate suggest severe weather will cost $5 billion a year in direct damages by 2025 and $17 billion by 2050.

Those figures balloon when you add in economic losses when severe weather forces businesses to close, washed out roads and railways disrupt supply chains or extreme heat curbs productivity.

The report suggests that by 2025, severe weather will take a $25 billion bite out of the economy, and between $78 billion and $101 billion by 2050.

But adaptation research director Ryan Ness says that is only if governments don't do more to both cut greenhouse emissions and ramp up investments to make the country more resilient to severe weather.

The report says every dollar invested in adapting to climate change can save $5 to $6 in direct damage costs and another $6 to $10 in economic disruptions.

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