1. Natural climate solutions for Canada
- Author
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Scott J. Davidson, Tony C. Lemprière, E. T. Neilson, Danijela Puric-Mladenovic, Sébastien Rodrigue, Christopher B. Williams, Timm Kroeger, William S. Keeton, Samantha Yeo, Fardausi Akhter, Brian McConkey, Naresh V. Thevathasan, Peter B. Woodbury, Max Fellows, Ben Filewod, Sara M. Leavitt, Susan C. Cook-Patton, Carolyn Smyth, Werner A. Kurz, Seth A. Spawn, Susantha Jayasundara, Tyler J. Lark, Raju Y. Soolanayakanahally, Pascal Badiou, Maria Strack, Edward Le, Juha M. Metsaranta, Marie-Eve LeClerc, Joseph Fargione, Andrew Dyk, Margot Hessing-Lewis, Raymond L. Desjardins, Devon E. Worth, Gail L. Chmura, Zhen Xu, Mihai Voicu, C. Ronnie Drever, and Guillaume Peterson St-Laurent
- Subjects
Multidisciplinary ,Peat ,010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences ,Environmental Studies ,Forest management ,SciAdv r-articles ,010501 environmental sciences ,01 natural sciences ,Natural (archaeology) ,Fossil fuel emissions ,Biodiversity conservation ,Disturbance (ecology) ,Environmental protection ,Environmental science ,Cover crop ,Applied Ecology ,Productivity ,Research Articles ,Research Article ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences - Abstract
Canada has natural solutions to support its efforts to tackle climate change: forests, wetlands, grasslands, and agriculture., Alongside the steep reductions needed in fossil fuel emissions, natural climate solutions (NCS) represent readily deployable options that can contribute to Canada’s goals for emission reductions. We estimate the mitigation potential of 24 NCS related to the protection, management, and restoration of natural systems that can also deliver numerous co-benefits, such as enhanced soil productivity, clean air and water, and biodiversity conservation. NCS can provide up to 78.2 (41.0 to 115.1) Tg CO2e/year (95% CI) of mitigation annually in 2030 and 394.4 (173.2 to 612.4) Tg CO2e cumulatively between 2021 and 2030, with 34% available at ≤CAD 50/Mg CO2e. Avoided conversion of grassland, avoided peatland disturbance, cover crops, and improved forest management offer the largest mitigation opportunities. The mitigation identified here represents an important potential contribution to the Paris Agreement, such that NCS combined with existing mitigation plans could help Canada to meet or exceed its climate goals.
- Published
- 2021
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