Economic Activity

Extreme events and climate hazards are adversely affecting multiple economic activities across North America and have disrupted supply-chain infrastructure and trade (high confidence). {ES-Ch14} Under current economic and consumption trends and paradigms, climate change impacts are projected to cause large market and non-market damages (high confidence) across North America. {14.6.2}

Food

Climate-induced redistribution and declines in North American food production are a risk to food and nutritional security (very high confidence). Climate change will continue to shift North American agricultural and fishery suitability ranges (high confidence) and intensify production losses of key crops (high confidence), livestock (medium confidence), fisheries (high confidence), and aquaculture products (medium confidence). {ES-Ch14}

Water

Heavy exploitation of limited water supplies, especially in the western US and northern Mexico, and deteriorating freshwater management infrastructure, have heightened water security impacts and risks (high confidence). {ES-Ch14}

Intensified droughts and earlier runoff from diminished snowpack will increase water scarcity during the summer peak water demand period especially in regions with extensive irrigated agriculture, leading to economic losses and increased pressures on limited groundwater as a substitute for diminished surface water supplies (medium to high confidence). {14.6.2}

Cities and Settlements

North American cities and settlements have been affected by increasing severity and frequency of climate-induced hazards and extreme events (high confidence) which has contributed to cascading effects of infrastructure damage, loss of services and economic activity, damage to heritage resources, safety concerns and disrupted livelihoods. Impacts are particularly apparent for Indigenous Peoples for whom culture, identity, commerce, health and wellbeing are closely connected to a resilient environment (very high confidence). {ES-Ch14}

Coastal, riverine, and urban flooding affecting communities and ecosystems will become a dominant risk to urban centres (high confidence), displacing people, compromising economic activity, disrupting transportation and trade infrastructure. Large wildfires will increasingly endanger lives, livelihoods, mental and physical health, property, key infrastructure, and economic activities and contribute to compromised air quality and municipal water contamination with multiple human health implications (high confidence). {14.6.2}

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