The Climate
Exchange
The Globe answers your most pressing questions about climate change in Canada and beyond
Ask your questionGo to the answers
For more details on The Climate Exchange, read the full letter from editor Ryan MacDonald below the submission form. Answers are now being posted to this page.
Do you have questions about climate change?
Climate change can be a terrifying and complex topic. The Globe wants to bring some clarity and hope to the conversation. We're collecting your questions on climate change and posing them to people with the necessary knowledge to explain the ins and outs of this ever-evolving subject, and posting the answers here.
Letter to readers
As journalists, we often say we’re not afraid to ask stupid questions – it’s important to be honest about what you don’t know. To put it another way, simply asking the question can be as important as the answer itself.
At The Globe, we believe it’s important to keep climate change at the forefront of our coverage because it affects every facet of our lives. That means asking questions.
Climate change is not some far-off, looming reality. It is here. 2023 will be remembered as the year of fire in Canada. From B.C. to Nova Scotia, the country lived through the worst and most widespread wildfire season in its history. A new fire season is now upon us and thousands of residents in British Columbia and Alberta have been evacuated (most have now returned.) There is a long wildfire season ahead.
So, does climate change cause wildfires? No. But wildfire experts, climatologists and doctors warn that as the climate warms, Canada is headed for record-breaking high temperatures, longer and increasingly intense wildfire seasons and prolonged periods of smoke exposure.
Today, we are launching The Climate Exchange, a digital hub where you can ask your most pressing questions about climate change. It’s a place where we hope to help by answering your questions, big and small, about the continuing changes and challenges around climate change. Along the way, we’ll aim to highlight the people, communities and companies who are working toward climate solutions and innovations.
For the record: while RBC supports the initiative financially, the company has no say in what questions get asked or how The Globe answers them.
So how are these continuing changes going to reverberate in Canada and throughout the rest of the world –and what we should do about them? The answers to these questions are not always certain, but The Globe will talk to the topic experts and we pledge to deliver answers that are clear, concise and honest.
Thank you for your continued interest and support.
Ryan MacDonald
Senior editor – Climate, energy and environment
The Globe and Mail
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