Hands across the water: climate change and binational cooperation in the Great Lakes Basin

Abstract

In examining the impact of climate change on binational governance of the Great Lakes between 2012 and 2019, this article evaluates the extent to which Canada and the U.S. have implemented the objectives in the climate change impacts annex—Annex 9—to the 2012 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA), in cooperation with diverse networks of governmental and nongovernmental actors. It also examines whether action taken thus far to implement Annex 9 indicate a marked improvement in adaptive capacity in addressing climate problems in the Great Lakes Basin. The author argues that the effectiveness of climate action in the Great Lakes Basin depends not only on the domestic efforts of the U.S. and Canadian governments, the responsible parties in implementing binational water agreements. It also hinges on whether they have the institutional capacity and the political will required to help fund and coordinate the actions of the several heterogeneous networks. Between 2012 and 2019, significant progress was made in the areas of information-sharing, network-building, and capacity-building for more effective measurement, monitoring, and analysis of climate change impacts in the Great Lakes Basin. However, the Parties have not yet developed a long-term binational framework for action supporting climate change adaptation and resilience. In the meantime, First Nations and municipal and other networks are implementing their own community-level resilience plans, but these actors cannot fully compensate for weak federal leadership and inadequate human and financial resources.