Considering that Hydro-Québec is generating electricity from hydropower, the company decided to investigate the potential effects of Climate Change (CC) on the water resources.  Besides the effects of CC on the water availability upstream the reservoirs, the company is anticipating significant changes in the electric load pattern and volume.  Finally, the evolution of the climate may result in increasing the occurrence of extreme events (floods, droughts, freezing rain, etc.) that may considerably affect Hydro-Québec’s installations.  The paper to be presented at the 83rd Annual Meeting of the AMS will focus on the results of following initiatives :

- Hydro-Québec corporate project on CC

- Ouranos Consortium

- E7 Climate Change Working Group

Hydro-Québec corporate project on CC

The anticipated consequences of CC on electric load, water inflows and extreme events led Hydro-Québec to initiate at the beginning of 2001 a programme to evaluate the impacts of CC and  to develop strategies of adaptation. We first identified the most important fields of activities that might be affected by CC ( Figure 1). 

We are now evaluating the potential impacts of CC according to the most probable climate scenarios.  To this effect, Hydro-Québec is putting forward considerable efforts to obtain regional climate scenarios from dynamical and statistical downscaling techniques.  These simulated CC regional scenarios will feed the existing forecasting tools (inflows and electric demand).  The inflow and demand forecasted scenarios will be used to evaluate the impact of climate change on the above mentioned activities.

Means to limit the consequences of adverse effects or initiatives to take advantage of potential changes will be strengthened.  The strategies of adaptation could allow the company to perform better in the context of CC.

Participation in the Ouranos Consortium

Ouranos, is a Consortium in regional climatology and adaptation to climate change.  The mission of Ouranos is to develop, structure and produce synergetic team work dedicated to the analysis and the search for solutions to climate change adaptation issues in a North American context. Ouranos regroups over 250 persons in multidisciplinary research teams hailing from universities and governmental and para-governmental organizations in areas that have been traditionally working apart: climate sciences, statistical analysis, characterization, impact and adaptation studies. The merging of isolated teams of scientists under Ouranos will pull in relevant scientific data and information needed by decision makers to plan responses to the rapidly evolving climate situation.  

Participation in the E7 Climate Change Working Group

The E7, concerned by the threat of global warming, is fully engaged in the global debate to reduce the earth’s greenhouse gas emissions. The E7 has participated and presented its position at the UN Conference of the Parties (COP) in Kyoto, Buenos Aires, Bonn, The Hague and Marrakech.

In 1995, the Climate Change Working Group (CCWG) was established in response to the first Conference of Parties (COP1) in Berlin. The CCWG was formed to identify and examine the issues surrounding energy greenhouse gas emissions in order to table recommendations or implement policies for the concrete advancement of the climate change debate. At COP1, a five-year pilot phase for Activities Implemented Jointly (AIJ) was initiated. Emerging as pioneers, the E7 Network of Expertise for the Global Environment reacted with the initiation of their three AIJ projects in Indonesia, Jordan, and Zimbabwe.