Social Sciences and Humanities Research Network on Sustainable Agriculture in a Net-Zero Economy

Aboriginal Peoples

Arctic and Northern Regions

Community, Regional & Enterprise Development

Creative Arts, Culture and Heritage

Environment, Energy and Natural Resources

Governance and Public Policy

Information and Communication Technology

Oceans, Fisheries and Aquaculture

Social Justice

Deadlines

Academic Unit: Inquire within unit

Memorial Deadline: Friday 13th, October 2023

External Deadline: Friday 20th, October 2023

Description

RIS will be offering support with application development for this opportunity. Prospective applicants are encouraged to contact Dr. Jennifer Stevens (v5js@mun.ca) or Dr. Amanda Crompton (ajcrompt@mun.ca) early during the development process to discuss the services available to them.

To meet the Government of Canada’s ambitious climate mitigation targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40-45% below 2005 levels by 2030 and to reach net-zero by 2050, all economic sectors need to contribute. In the agricultural sector, Canada has made commitments to reduce emissions from fertilizer use by 30% below 2020 levels by 2030, and to support the Global Methane Pledge to reduce global methane emissions by 30% below 2020 levels by 2030. Budget 2022 included a commitment for immediate action toward climate mitigation and to support the 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan: Canada’s Next Steps for Clean Air and a Strong Economy to support farmers as partners in building a clean, prosperous future.

Currently, agricultural emissions from primary production are estimated to account for 10% of Canada’s total emissions. Agricultural practices release greenhouse gases primarily from biological sources (e.g., nitrous oxide emissions from nitrogen fertilizers and manure management, methane emissions from livestock feed digestion), as well as from combustion of fossil fuels (e.g., operation of farm machinery). Agriculture is also in a unique position to further climate change mitigation using nature-based solutions that can remove and sequester carbon from the atmosphere.

While some solutions (e.g., beneficial management practices and technologies) are available and being developed to help reduce these emissions, there is a realization that improving current production systems will not be enough to meet the long-term ambitious objectives of decarbonizing the economy. In that context, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) are collaborating to support research to accelerate the development of transformative innovations, practices, technologies, products, land uses and inputs that will lead to a sustainable, profitable, and resilient agriculture and agri-food sector in an uncertain climate to move to a net-zero economy in the future.

SSHRC and AAFC are collaborating further to emphasize the need to foster more social sciences and humanities research in this area through the development of an agricultural social sciences and humanities research network. The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Network on Sustainable Agriculture in a Net-Zero Economy would bring together social sciences and humanities researchers and practitioners from all sectors to enhance learning, expertise and knowledge sharing across Canada on studies in agriculture, climate change and the environment. The research network would feed into the fundamental and applied research call through ongoing identification of research gaps and opportunities, and would interact with AAFC to ensure policy-research linkages that reflect the policy and data needs of the department.

This social sciences and humanities research network will help to reinforce, coordinate and scale up Canada’s domestic research capabilities through partnerships between universities, colleges and organizations from the private, public or not-for-profit sectors, focusing on building up social sciences and humanities research in this area through an inclusive approach that welcomes various perspectives and knowledge, including traditional and Indigenous knowledge.

More details can be found here.

Funding Sources

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)