Stimulating a Canadian narrative for climate

Abstract

This perspective documents current thinking around climate actions in Canada by synthesizing scholarly proposals made by Sustainable Canada Dialogues (SCD), an informal network of scholars from all 10 provinces, and by reviewing responses from civil society representatives to the scholars’ proposals. Motivated by Canada’s recent history of repeatedly missing its emissions reduction targets and failing to produce a coherent plan to address climate change, SCD mobilized more than 60 scholars to identify possible pathways towards a low-carbon economy and sustainable society and invited civil society to comment on the proposed solutions. This perspective illustrates a range of Canadian ideas coming from many sectors of society and a wealth of existing inspiring initiatives. Solutions discussed include climate change governance, low-carbon transition, energy production, and consumption. This process of knowledge synthesis/creation is novel and important because it provides a working model for making connections across academic fields as well as between academia and civil society. The process produces a holistic set of insights and recommendations for climate change actions and a unique model of engagement. The different voices reported here enrich the scope of possible solutions, showing that Canada is brimming with ideas, possibilities, and the will to act.

Atmospheric change as a driver of change in the Canadian boreal zone1

“…The transition to a low-carbon boreal (Canada) proposed in response to impending atmospheric change can take many policy pathways that prioritize environmental and socio-economic sustainability (see Government of Canada 2017;Potvin et al 2017;Yeung 2018;. The main challenges of achieving such an outcome lie in the willingness of the government and all sectors of society to (i) urgently and dramatically reduce the emissions of GHGs and hazardous pollutants, when given a narrowing window of opportunity for avoiding a runaway climate feedback; and (ii) drastically reduce nonatmospheric stressors on ecosystems, particularly those associated Table 4.…”

Alternative scenarios for the future of the Canadian boreal zone1

“…This axis was deliberately chosen to situate the transition to a low-carbon economy as the underpinning objective of this scenario analysis. The rapidly growing importance of energy transitions from traditional high-carbon fossil fuel economies towards low-carbon renewable energy economies can be seen in provincial carbon pricing and renewable energy investments, federal energy policy, and international commitments to the Paris Agreement (Smil 2010;Potvin et al 2017). It is also worthwhile highlighting that a low-carbon economy in this paper is primarily focused a low fossil fuel economy, as the carbon stored in forest biomass and the use of forest bioenergy are seen as important steps in this transition.…”

“…The current impacts and future threats of global climate change present a unique mix of responsibilities and challenges for every nation as they transition towards a low-carbon economy (Potvin et al 2017). Canada has a vast reserve of natural resources, including 7% of the global renewable supply of freshwater (Bakker and Cook 2011), 9% of the world's forests (Natural Resources Canada 2017), and the third largest oil reserve on the planet (Rosa et al 2017).…”

“…Moreover, the Canadian economy has long been dependent on the extraction and export of natural resources, including fossil fuels. These realities will shape the path of Canada's transition towards a low-carbon economy and the challenges it faces along the way (Potvin et al 2017).…”

“…Reconciliation with Indigenous people across Canada is a major theme of the new government policies and this is pushing the transition to a low-carbon economy to be done in a just way, which requires greater empowerment of Indigenous people and all Canadians to shape the future of land and water management. Looking ahead, three points are clear: (i) the transition towards a low-carbon economy has begun; (ii) the need for policy approaches that are effective, equitable, coordinated, and both administratively and politically feasible is high; and (iii) the transition is intimately tied to the provision of ecosystem services from the boreal zone of Canada (Government of Canada 2016; Potvin et al 2017).…”