Question Period Note: Environment and Climate Change

What is the Government of Canada doing to minimize the agricultural sector’s impact on the environment?

RESPONSE:

1. Canadian farmers are important stewards of the land and are at the forefront of the fight against climate change. We must better recognize and support their environmental efforts.

2. Supporting sustainable agriculture is the Government’s number one priority for our sector. Our work buildson the existing efforts of farmers to protect the environment and reduce greenhouse gases.

3. A sustainable Canadian agriculture sector involves environmental, social and economic sustainability. It is essential that we integrate and support all three.

4. Our government announced $550M over the last year to support farmers in the fight against climate change. These include the Agricultural Climate Solutions, Agricultural Clean Technology and On-Farm Climate Action Fund programs.

5. We continue to work with provinces, territories and other stakeholders to support the agriculture sector in developing and adopting new management practices and prioritize sustainable agriculture under the next policy framework.

6. We are also developing a Canadian agri-environmental strategy to support the sector’s actions on climate change and other environmental priorities towards 2030.

RESPONSIVE ON MITIGATING CLIMATE CHANGE:
1. My vision is for Canada to be a world leader in sustainable agriculture. We must help farmers mitigate and adapt to a changing climate.

1. Addressing the climate change crisis is a key priority for our Government. Itwill require accelerated and urgent action across the economy and society.

2. In April 2021, we launched the $185M Agricultural Climate Solutions Program, which will support farmers’ efforts to store carbon on their agricultural lands and realize other environmental benefits over the next decade and beyond.

3. As part of Budget 2021 we announced further support for the sector including additional funding of $200M over 2 years to support immediate, on-farm climate action.

4. We also invested $165.7M over 7 years to support the sector in developing and adopting clean technologies.

5. In October 2021, we confirmed our support for the Global Methane Pledge, which aims to reduce global methane emissions by 30%below 2020 levels by 2030. We will work with agriculture producers, stakeholders, and partners over the coming months to develop an approach for addressing methane emissions in the sector.

6. We have also set a national target for emission reductions from fertilizers, of 30% below 2020 levels. We are committed to working with stakeholders to develop an approach to meet this target.

RESPONSIVE ON CARBON POLLUTION PRICING:
1. Carbon pollution pricing is an important part of Canada’s plan to transition to a cleaner and more innovative economy.

1. Greenhouse gas emissions from livestock and crop production are not included in the carbon pollution pricing system.

2. There are also exemptions for gasoline and diesel fuel used by farmers for agricultural activities and a partial rebate for commercial greenhouse operations.

3. As announced in Budget 2021, we intend to return a portion of the proceeds from the price on pollution directly to farmers in backstop jurisdictions, beginning in 2021-22. We estimate eligible farmers could receive up to $100M in the first year.

RESPONSIVE ON ADAPTING TO CLIMATE CHANGE:
1. Farmers and ranchers are on the front lines of climate change and are the first to feel its effects.

1. This is why addressing the climate change crisis is a key priority for our Government. Thiswill require accelerated and urgent action across the economy and society.

2. We continue to collaborate with provincial and territorial governments to help the sector deal with climate-related risks and extreme weather, including through science, engagement, and cost-shared programs.

3. Through business risk management programs, federal, provincial, and territorial governments have responded rapidly to the 2021 drought. This includes$500Min federal funding through AgriRecovery, as announced on August 15th.

4. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s scientists are working with industry to improve producers’ ability to address extreme weather risks and provide tools to better manage weather and climate risk.

RESPONSIVE ON ENHANCING SUSTAINABLE WATER MANAGEMENT:
1. We are committed to helping the agriculture sector enhance the stewardship of our water resources including through the creation of a new Canada Water Agency in 2022.

1. We are also committed to working with partners to identify opportunities to build more resilient water and irrigation infrastructure.

2. We are leaders on agricultural science, programming, and collaboration. This is supported by efforts under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership to protect water resources and enhance the resilience of the sector to climate change.

RESPONSIVE ON FERTILIZER TARGET:
1. We have set a national target for emission reductions from fertilizers, of 30 percent below 2020 levels by 2030.

1. The fertilizer target is focused solely on reducing emissions arising from fertilizer use in Canada. It does not represent a mandatory reduction in the amount of fertilizer used on the farm.

2. We are committed to working with the agriculture sector and other partners to find ways to optimize nutrient management on the farm and establish a path forward to meeting this target.

RESPONSIVE IF PRESSED ON MEYERS NORRIS PENNY REPORT:
1. The economic study by Meyers Norris Penny assumes that the emissions reduction target equates to a mandatory reduction in fertilizer application rates. Instead, the Government of Canada’s approach is focused on reducing fertilizer emissions, and not a blanket reduction in fertilizer application rates.

BACKGROUND:

The Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Partnership), launched on April 1, 2018, is a five-year $3-billion investment that will strengthen the agriculture, agri-food and agri-based products sector, helping to promote continued innovation, growth and prosperity. This includes $1-billion in federal programs and activities and $2-billion in cost-shared funding programs and activities by federal, provincial, and territorial governments. Within the $2-billion cost-shared programs and activities, an estimated allocation of up to $438-million has been made available to address environmental sustainability and climate change issues.

Up to $690-million is available under the federal-only programs to enhance the competitiveness of the sector through research, science and innovation, with an emphasis on sustainable and clean growth, including the AgriInnovate ($128-million) and AgriScience ($338-million, $38-million specifically for environment) programs, and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC)-led foundational science ($224-million, $45-million specifically for environment),.

Mitigating Climate Change

The sector has demonstrated a commitment to sustainable practices that help protect Canada’s soil, air, water, biodiversity and the climate but also accounts for 10% of Canada’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, mainly through animal production, on-farm fuel use, and fertilizer application. While the intensity of agricultural emissions decreased by 50 percent between 1997 and 2017, total emissions from the sector are projected to increase by 2030. Agricultural lands can also act as “carbon sinks” by storing (or sequestering) carbon in the soil, reducing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. For over 20 years, Canadian farmers, particularly in the Prairies, have increasingly substituted conventional tillage with no-till or conservation tillage seeding techniques. These practices, combined with a major reduction in summer fallow (i.e., cropland purposefully kept out of production have resulted in agricultural soils in Canada being a significant carbon sink since 2000.

In 2021, the government launched a number of new programs and initiatives aimed at fighting climate change and improving the resilience of the sector. This included:
- $185-million over 10 years for the Agricultural Climate Solutions Living Laboratories program
- $167.5-million over 7 years for the Agricultural Clean Technology Program with priorities including $50-million for the purchase of more efficient grain dryers for farmers across Canada and $10-million over the next two years toward powering farms with clean energy and moving off diesel.
- $200-million for On-farm Climate Action under the Agricultural Climate Solutions Program to support improved nitrogen management, increased cover cropping and rotational grazing.
- Setting a national emission reduction target of 30% below 2020 levels from fertilizers and working with fertilizer manufacturers, farmers, provinces and territories to develop an approach to meet it.
- Developing a new Canadian Agri-Environmental Strategy to support the sector’s action on climate change and other environmental priorities towards 2030 and 2050 climate, biodiversity, and related goals.
More recently, on October 11, 2021, Canada confirmed its support for the Global Methane Pledge, which aims to reduce global methane emissions by 30 percent below 2020 levels by 2030. In support of The Pledge, which will be officially launched at the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, Canada has committed to taking comprehensive domestic actions to reduce methane emissions across the broader Canadian economy. While the majority of reductions are expected to come from the oil and gas sector, where Canada has committed to reducing the sector’s methane emissions by at least 75 percent below 2012 levels by 2030, methane emissions reductions will also be sought from landfills and agriculture. Agriculture represents 28% of Canada’s total methane emissions, which are mainly biological emissions from livestock production. Canada’s agricultural methane emissions have already decreased by 20% since 2005, mainly due to a reduction in size of Canada’s beef and dairy herds. AAFC will continue working to assess the potential of the Canadian agriculture sector to contibute to the methane target and will access how current programming (e.g. Agricultural Clean Technology Program) could help achive this target.

Carbon Pollution Pricing
Establishing a national price on carbon pollution is a key federal commitment under the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change. The Federal Government has implemented a carbon pollution pricing legislation (backstop) effective January 1, 2019, in provinces and territories that choose to adopt it or that do not have a carbon pollution pricing system that meets the federal benchmark stringency requirements and carbon price benchmark of $40/tonne in 2021 rising to $50/tonne in 2022..
Currently, carbon pollution pricing systems are in place in British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador. The federal carbon pollution pricing system applies fully in Ontario, Manitoba, Nunavut, and Yukon; it applies in part in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Prince Edward Island.
In 2019 the Alberta government initiated a legal challenge against the federal government, contesting the constitutionality of the federal carbon pollution pricing system. Manitoba, Ontario and Saskatchewan, backed by New Brunswick, are also engaged in similar legal actions. The Supreme Court heard the provinces’ challenges in September, 2020, and in March 2021 ruled in favour of the Government of Canada and upheld the constitutionality of the federal carbon pollution pricing system.
In order to accelerate the market adoption of the technologies and practices needed to reduce emissions and to build a prosperous low carbon economy, the Government of Canada has proposed to increase the price on pollution annually at a rate of $15 per tonne from 2023-2030, to a maximum of $170/tonne. Canadians living in jurisdictions where the federal system applies, and where the federal government returns fuel charge proceeds through Climate Action Incentive payments, will continue to receive rebates that increase each year as the carbon price increases.
In Budget 2021, the government announced its intention to return a portion of the proceeds from the price on pollution directly to farmers in backstop jurisdictions (currently Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario), beginning in 2021-22. It is estimated farmers would receive $100 million in the first year. Returns in future years will be based on proceeds from the price on pollution collected in the prior fiscal year, and are expected to increase as the price on pollution rises. Further details will be announced later in 2021 by the Minister of Finance.

Adapting To Climate Change

Weather has always been a key factor that producers integrate into their daily and longer-term management decisions. However, climate change is making this challenge even greater. Federal, provincial, and territorial governments recognize this challenge and the importance of helping producers avoid – or quickly recover from – the extraordinary costs associated with extreme weather events such as droughts and floods. For example, AgriRecovery can help producers with these unforeseen, extraordinary costs.

AAFC has developed a scientific research strategy to enhance sustainable agricultural production and is working to better understand the impacts of a changing climate and develop innovative technologies to enable adaptation to it (e.g., more resilient crop varieties and animal breeds, more efficient irrigation systems, models to predict climate impact on important pests and diseases).

As part of Canada’s Strengthened Climate Plan, Canada is committed to developing a National Adaptation Strategy by December, 2022, led by Environment and Climate Change Canada. AAFC will continue engaging with other federal departments, provincial, territorial governments and sector stakeholders.
Enhancing Sustainable Water Management
The Minister has a mandate commitment to continue to support the Minister of Environment and Climate Change to create a new Canada Water Agency to work together with the provinces, territories, Indigenous communities, local authorities, scientists and others to find the best ways to keep our water safe, clean and well-managed. As well as to work with partners, supported by the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, to identify opportunities to build more resilient water and irrigation infrastructure.
The government intends to establish and fully fund a new Canada Water Agency in 2022 and implement a strengthened Freshwater Action Plan.
AAFC continues to engage with ECCC, other departments, provincial/territorial agriculture counterparts and interested sector partners to advance work on the development of potential mandate, investment and structural options for the CWA and opportunities for collaboration under the strengthened FWAP.
Ban On Single-Use Plastic
An estimated 46,000 tonnes of plastic is generated from primary agriculture annually (1% of total plastic waste generated in Canada) and plastic packaging (including food packaging) accounts for 33% of all plastic use and 47% of plastic waste in Canada.
Bioplastics or bio-based plastic alternatives that are compostable or biodegradable may provide an alternative end of life for some single-use plastics, such as plastic bags, straws, cutlery, plates, and stir sticks. Under the Innovative Solutions Canada program, AAFC and Natural Resources Canada participated in a joint challenge to improve the compostability of bioplastics from agriculture or wood biomass in household and municipal composting systems.
The Canadian Agricultural Strategic Priorities Program (CASPP) is funding a Cleanfarms Inc. project entitled "Building a Zero-Plastic-Waste Strategy for Agriculture” and the Agricultural Clean Technology Program is funding a TerraVerdae Bioworks Inc. focusing on the development of high performance biodegradable plastics. Additionally, the Canadian Agricultural Partnership’s AgriScience Bioproducts Cluster is funding three projects that address food packaging.

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