This text is part of the special Environment section
For three years, the University of Montreal and Espace pour la vie mobilized knowledge in order to imagine possible futures towards socio-ecological transition. The Chemins de transition initiative called on more than 1,000 stakeholders to respond to three major challenges: digital, food and territory-related.
“How can we feed more and more humans in good health, without depleting the earth’s resources, in a context of climate change? How to inhabit the Quebec territory in a sober and resilient way in a context of ecological transition? How to make digital transition and ecological transition converge? » Chemins de transition gathered knowledge from all walks of life and organized citizen workshops to answer these three fundamental questions.
Using a prospective and participatory approach, the project determined a “desirable future” among several “possible futures”. The goal? “Better to choose, collectively, the path to take, rather than completely suffering the shock of climate change”, says Franck Scherrer, academic director of Chemins de transition and full professor at the School of Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture at the University of Montreal (UdeM). The idea is to determine the levers of action and to lay the foundations of a new social contract to be built, more respectful of the ecological limits of the planet.
“There was an urgent need to equip Quebec society to understand the profound societal transformation towards which we must go, that is to say the socio-ecological transition which has already begun”, he continues. Unlike the industrial revolution, this necessary transition can be anticipated by imagining the future, by identifying the major knots to unravel to get there and by democratizing a more systemic way of seeing the world.
food challenge
Our current food system emits 34% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions globally and is also the primary cause of biodiversity loss. “We almost all know that we need to transform our modes of production and consumption, but less how to get there, underlines Marie-Hélène Pâquet, responsible for the “knowledge sharing” component of the food challenge. We therefore created a first sketch of possible futures by setting objectives. »
To achieve them, 59 milestones or stages, each influencing or unlocking the other and divided into five thematic blocks. In 2040, food will thus have become a public priority, according to this vision which advocates the “right of each individual to healthy and sustainable food, an essential and universal need”. “We must move towards a sustainable, resilient and sober food system, within the limits of planetary resources, continues Marie-Hélène Pâquet. There are also big questions that need to be resolved collectively, such as the fair price of healthy and sustainable food. »
The report mentions, for example, the importance of the well-being of farmers and producers, who must be supported towards diversified agro-ecological methods. At the “crossroads of meeting between agriculture, ecology and society, agroecology takes into account the entire food system, from production to waste management”, we can read. The territorialisation of food on a regional scale is also on the agenda. Thus, in 2040, individuals and organizations “largely source their food locally and from agroecological practices”.
All the steps that link the current situation to the 2040 vision are promising, but they could be slowed down or diverted by certain factors. The team therefore anticipated scenarios to deal with worsening land use conflict and an influx of refugees, for example. “We did all this work during the pandemic, so it is certain that there is a strong sensitivity to the need to adapt to the unexpected”, underlines Franck Scherrer.
Knowledge sharing
The team is already traveling across Quebec to disseminate the results of these collective reflections to a wide audience, in partnership with other transition networks. It provides methodological support and takes on the role of expert so that organizations that so wish can act according to the proposed milestones, and even build their own trajectory.
For example, the Common Front for Energy Transition has set up ZéN communities (zero net emissions) to achieve carbon neutrality. Class interventions and student activities also take place. For its part, Space for Life raises awareness among the general public. A project for a museum of socio-ecological transition, which will use the knowledge gathered over the past few years, is also on the way.
In general, the reception of the project was dithyrambic, according to Franck Scherrer. “A lot of people bought into the method and the vision,” he says. I believe there is a movement going on, and that makes me optimistic. For the academic director, this is a real chance given to collective action.
This special content was produced by the Special Publications team of the Duty, relating to marketing. The drafting of Duty did not take part.