Is Canada Falling Behind in the Climate Fight? – Views from Abroad

I’m writing this month’s blog post from the University of Oslo library, where I’m studying abroad this semester. Moving across the globe, I’ve certainly encountered some eye-opening differences in culture, including public transit etiquette, prices of groceries, and acceptable levels of chit-chat. As I experience daily life in one of Europe’s leading countries in sustainability, I thought this would be a good opportunity to compare Canada to other countries that are seen as “sustainable” and discuss the ways our country is both excelling and slacking in ocean conservation and environmentalism as a whole. We’ll examine what it means for a country to be sustainable, where Canada stands, and the role of the government versus the role of the individual.

According to the 2022 Sustainable Development Report from the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, the most sustainable country in the world is Finland. The country had an SDG Index Score of 86.5, well above Canada’s 77.7 which put us below the top 20 countries in the world. Finland has achieved their goals of sustainability through an annual sustainability assessment that has been in effect since 2018. This allows the country to analyze planning, budgeting, and reporting in order to improve its sustainability. They have energy-efficient homes, a UNESCO-certified groundwater system, and a thorough recycling program.

After Finland, the other Scandinavian countries all fall next in line in terms of sustainability. With an SDG Index Score of 85.6, Denmark achieves its sustainability through enacting greener government policies, such as their 2019 Climate Act which promised to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the country by 70% by 2030. The country gets nearly half its energy from wind farms, exhibiting the effectiveness of green energy. Sweden, where more than half of the energy is produced by renewable sources, has a score of 85.2. The country utilizes electric buses, urban farming, food banks, and smart roads to help its population live as sustainably as possible, and it also has goals to reduce emissions from 85 to 100 percent by 2045. Finally, Norway has an SDG Index Score of 82.3. The country has been employing its natural resources since the 1800s, harvesting energy created by rivers in the fjords to fuel the growing population. In recent years, sustainable energy resources such as floating solar panels and silicon solar modules have been created to add to pre-existing solutions like their almost entirely electric public transport system.

While these countries are certainly paving the way in terms of general sustainability efforts, ocean conservation is not their priority. Marine protected areas (MPAs) are zones of the ocean set aside for conservation, somewhat like marine national parks. They are vital tools for conservationists and protect marine ecosystems from overfishing and resource extraction. MPAs have been shown to significantly increase both ecosystem health and organism numbers within previously exploited areas. Palau, a small island of only 20,000 individuals decided that in addition to managing their fisheries by closing important spawning grounds to fish periodically, they would close 80% of all fishing grounds to any extraction permanently. In total, this resulted in the island creating an MPA of 500,000 km2. The United Kingdom created an MPA of 834,000 km2, the largest continuous marine reserve in the world. This encompasses the Pitcairn Islands, an overseas British territory in the South Pacific with only 56 inhabitants. MPAs are vital for ocean conservation and are an important step for all countries along coasts if they want their oceans to have futures.

So… where is Canada at? Our score of 77.7 signifies that we’re doing some good in the fight against climate change, but that we could definitely be doing more. Some of the ways we’re being proactive include generating economy-wide climate plans for the country, putting a price on carbon, and phasing out coal-fired electricity while simultaneously supporting a transition for coal power workers and communities. In the past, there hasn’t been a very consistent approach to not only setting climate targets, but following up on those targets with comprehensive plans that include timelines, policies, and investments. The Healthy Environment Healthy Economy Plan (HEHE) of 2020 is a step in the right direction. Additionally, we’ve seen the tabling of BillC12 (the Net-Zero Accountability Act), a piece of climate legislation that has potential to make Canada’s long-term goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 law. With the release of HEHE in December 2020 came confirmation that carbon prices across Canada will continue to increase yearly, with a benchmark cost of $170/ton by 2030. This sends the economy-wide signal that it is no longer alright to externalize the cost of pollution. These are small victories, however. Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions are not declining, and our current climate plans focus on coal, continuing to neglect that the county’s largest and fastest sources of emissions are oil and gas production. We’re a long way from being in the top 20 most sustainable countries. Additionally, there are currently 14 MPAs across Canada comprising over 350,000 km2 of the ocean but only 6% of Canada’s marine and coastal areas. Canada has largely put the economic prosperity of the oceans above the health of marine life, communicating that ocean sustainability is not the government’s priority.

Where do we go from here? Aside from taking individual actions such as transforming your transport, reducing power usage, and tweaking your diet, ramping up the political pressure is one of the most important ways to ensure Canada takes responsibility for its impact on the world at large. Lobbying local politicians and corporations to cut emissions and reduce carbon pollution is essential for tackling the climate emergency. This can be scary, but just start small. Pick an environmental issue you care about, decide on a specific request for change, and try to arrange a meeting with your local representative. This is an incredible way to start the conversation and enact real change in your community.

Living Sustainably as a Queen's Student

As a student, it can feel impossible to live a sustainable lifestyle. Many of us have limited budgets and time, and the resources we do have are put into things like schoolwork and socializing. Sustainable living is vital to the health of our oceans, however, and therefore to the health of our planet and our species. By following these 6 tips, you can make the shift to living a more sustainable life on campus so you know you’re making a change and supporting your community.

Being more sustainable isn’t an easily or immediately achieved goal you’ll be able to tick off your to-do list. It’s a journey of learning and experimenting, but the “destination” of ocean health is essential. The destination will only be achieved when we understand the impacts of our activities and take action.

Are you ready? Here’s a small start on how to be a more sustainable student.

1. Reduce your consumption

This is a huge overarching goal which underscores all other tips on this list. The tendency for our society to over-consume has begun to wreck the planet, as the world quite literally drowns in items we consume then toss to the side, from single-use plastics to large household items. Each year, billions of pounds of trash enter the ocean. Some of the debris ends up on beaches, some sinks and is eaten by marine animals, and some accumulate in ocean currents.

The best way to reduce consumption is by stopping and questioning what you actually need – and why you need it – before buying. Look for alternatives before ordering straight from Amazon. This is an easy first step in reducing consumption, and can even end up saving you money. By reducing consumption, we can also reduce our contribution to oil consumption. Oil spills are a massive source of ocean pollution and have detrimental effects on marine ecosystems and biodiversity.

2. Stop buying fast fashion

Fast fashion describes cheap, stylish, mass-produced clothes that hugely impact the environment. While trendy and affordable, the clothes are made using toxic processes and are not worth the environmental impact.

As a student, a simple and cheap way to avoid fast fashion is by thrifting or shopping vintage. In Kingston alone, several second-hand stores sell clean, good quality clothes, the buying of which won’t add tonnes of CO2 into the air and lead to microplastics flowing into our oceans. Visit stores like Montreal St. Collective, YGK Thrift, and What Will I Wear along Princess Street and see what they have to offer.

3. Support local businesses

Supporting local is a massive and easy step towards living a more sustainable life. Smaller, independent businesses are often more sustainable because their purchases require less transportation and therefor add fewer carbon emissions to the air. Local businesses have the added value of keeping money in the local economy, and you know you’re supporting real people who are passionate about their skill, industry, or product. Simply taking a walk through downtown Kingston this holiday season when you’re looking for gifts is a way to promote sustainability!

4. Mend and share

As students with limited budgets, we might as well keep our possessions, clothes, and everything else in circulation for as long as possible. Sharing clothes with housemates or learning to sew in the various workshops that take place across campus will allow you to buy less and value what you have even more. At the end of the day, the less we consume (and spend), the more we help.

5. Reduce your waste

Reducing your single-use plastic waste is a massive step you can take in your journey to becoming a more sustainable student.

As explained by the name, single-use plastics are used once and then discarded. What we’re not told, however, is that after their single use they take hundreds of years to break down. Every year, countless seabirds, fishes, turtles, and marine mammals are killed by these plastics due to starvation or entanglement. Additionally, over 100 marine species have been found with microplastics in their systems. A simple way to reduce your use of these plastics on campus is to opt for reusable alternatives. Bring reusable bags when grocery shopping, use Tupperware (ideally glass or steel) instead of Ziplocs, and buy more food in bulk instead of small packaged products.

6. Just ... keep trying.

This is the absolute most important tip on the list. Moving towards a more sustainable lifestyle isn’t like adopting the latest crash diet – it’s a long-term lifestyle change that will introduce you to ideas and people you never would have met otherwise and teach you about what truly matters. Each decision you make and product you buy can be seen as its own ethical decision, meaning that every day you’ll have millions of chances to make better choices and become a more sustainable student. Even just reading this article is a huge step in the direction of promoting ocean health! Hopefully, these tips will help you learn how to live a more sustainable lifestyle here at Queen’s.

Why We Need to Save Our Oceans, and Who We Need to Save Them With

Ocean conservation has been an emerging field of environmentalism and activism in recent years. As discussions regarding climate change have increased in the last decade, ocean conservancy agencies have called to protect our oceans and the wildlife who call them home. But why is protecting our oceans and their biodiversity really so important? What do the oceans actually do for us?

The oceans help us more than we know, no matter how land-locked we may seem.

1. A healthy ocean regulates climate and reduces climate change impacts

By distributing heat across the globe, ocean currents regulate temperature and weather. The ocean is also capable of absorbing over 90% of the heat and approximately 30% of the CO2 emissions produced by human activities.

2. The ocean generates more than half of the air we breath

Tiny marine plants called phytoplankton that live on the ocean’s surface photosynthesize and produce between 50-80% of Earth’s oxygen.

3. The ocean provides us with 1/5 of the animal protein we eat

Oceans play an integral role in food security, accounting for 20% of global animal protein consumption and over 50% in many developing nations.

4. Ocean ecosystems provide ingredients for critical medications

Over 10,000 compounds used in biomedical research, medications, treatments, and diagnostic testing have been extracted from marine environments

5. The ocean provides millions of livelihoods that fuel local and global economies

The “blue economy” employs millions of individuals around the world and contributes to several trillion dollars of goods and services to the global economy every year. This is especially important in developing countries.

Because of the vast size of the world’s oceans, humans long assumed that oceans were immune to our impacts. It wasn’t until recently that scientists came to understand the devastating impact and continued threat of human activities that put oceans at risk. Through overfishing, habitat destruction, invasive species, and climate change, no area has been left untouched.

When discussing ocean conservation, it’s important to take into consideration who takes part in our conversations. Whose perspectives are we involving? Whose voices are we hearing? It is essential that we include Indigenous communities, voices, and opinions when tackling this issue of ocean conservation.

The efforts of Indigenous communities toward environmental conservation have been described as inseparable from their cultural identities and political organizations. As Indigenous resurgence has taken place in the last decade, including reintegration and reestablishment of Indigenous ways of living, the long-term environmental stewardship of Indigenous communities has been documented around the globe, specifically in the context of the world’s oceans. Lara Taylor, a member of the Kairangahau Maori tribe, explains that environmental management systems are often based on Indigenous knowledge that connects places and cultures, and emphasizes holistic approaches. Her community in Australia works to acknowledge the relationships between “human and nonhuman beings” like plants, animals, forests, and rivers. Emphasis is put on reciprocity and respect towards all beings.

In Canada, there remains significant barriers to the meaningful and necessary participation of Indigenous peoples in ocean conservation. For as long as we have known, Indigenous communities have lived sustainably in the country we now call Canada. They have a unique and diverse way of understanding the role of humans in the natural world, with knowledge systems shaped by cultural heritage, law, and oral tradition.

So... why do Indigenous peoples remain on the outskirts of political decisions when they are outstanding caretakers of the natural environment? Time and again, Indigenous communities have been seen on the front lines of land defence and conservation issues, yet their voices are lost. It’s time for policy changes.

New approaches are needed. Only by partnering with Indigenous communities and learning from them will we be able to generate societal and systems change, to restore the biodiversity essential to healthy oceans. Only by amplifying Indigenous voices can we save our world’s oceans.