Basement-free buildings are better for the future climate [Video]

In July, torrential rains flooded basements across Ontario, causing $940 million in insured damages, and weeks later, caused nearly $2.5 billion in insured damages in Quebec, the Insurance Bureau of Canada says.

As climate change boosts the risk of extreme rainfall and flooding in many parts of Canada, including southern Ontario and southern Quebec, some Montreal-area politicians have implemented or proposed bans on basements — the most flood-prone part of a house — in vulnerable parts of the city.

Research also shows that all the concrete that goes into building basements adds greenhouse gases to the atmosphere and helps speed up climate change. Is it time to stop building them?

The rise of basement bans

In June, the Montreal borough of Ville-Marie passed regulations banning homeowners from turning basements into habitable spaces in neighbourhoods at risk of flooding unless they ensure that the building is waterproofed to withstand heavy rains.

Then in August, the remnants of Tropical Storm Debby unleashed massive rains on southern Quebec, flooding …