This text is part of the special Research section: climate issues
In terms of climate action, work has shown that emotions such as anxiety or shame, blame and denial help to modify or inhibit the type of action in which people and groups engage, and that failure to recognize the diversity of contexts can lead to targeting the wrong measures, as well as creating conflicts. At the head of the Canada Research Chair in Urban Climate Action, National Institute for Scientific Research (INRS) researcher Sophie Van Neste leads action research projects in the field with the aim of better understanding the motivations of citizens to participate in collective climate projects.
Reducing greenhouse gases and adapting to climate change requires the transformation of infrastructure and living environments to which the populations living in the territories concerned are attached, and this inevitably generates emotions which can be strong. Thanks to the various action research programs carried out by Sophie Neste and her teams, researchers go into the field, work with communities, and the result is better social acceptability regarding changes in behavior or ways of doing things that must be adopted. .
The aim of the approach is to understand the context of each project upstream, then to reflect on the opportunities for joint action. For meme Van Neste, it is appropriate to “take into account the particularities of each place, such as the culture of the stakeholders involved or the wishes of the residents”.
Concrete projects
The Chair can be requested by a municipality or a group of citizens. This is the case, for example, of the City of Montreal, which wanted the presence of researchers to work on the Lachine-Est eco-district. It also happens that the members of the Chair themselves go to organizations or cities. The municipal order is particularly targeted, because it is easier to change regulations and therefore take action.
“Our analyzes are carried out to fuel action. Our reports aim to support citizen initiatives and improve them. Furthermore, we are trying to understand how municipalities, residents and organizations can work together and innovate,” says M.me Van Neste.
Among the initiatives, the CommunoSerre toolbox, in urban agriculture, makes it possible to assess the potential of solidarity greenhouses in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Another initiative, the Blue-Green Lanes, helps citizens green their streets, cool them and recycle rainwater using retention basins. All with the help of municipalities, eco-districts and NPOs.
Other research focuses on solidarity, resilience and ecological transition, in cooperation with community organizations and consultation tables. This is notably the case of Transition en commun, an alliance between citizen groups, civil society organizations, the City of Montreal and other institutions for the socio-ecological transition in certain neighborhoods in Montreal.
“The potential is much greater when actions are coordinated between actors on a larger scale,” believes M.me Van Neste.
Inclusive and equitable choices
The best example is undoubtedly that of the Montreal Climate Lab, in which INRS participates with the Consortium on regional climatology and adaptation to climate change (Ouranos) and the City of Montreal. This living laboratory aims to question the practices put in place and to improve, with professionals and local stakeholders, adaptation to climate change, the case studied in more depth being that of the redevelopment of the Lachine-Est sector.
According to Sophie Van Neste, stakeholders must make choices “while ensuring that they are inclusive and equitable, and that they do not worsen inequalities in society”. She takes as an example subsidies for house renovations aimed at better energy efficiency or better resistance to heat, of course, but which very often favor owners at the expense of tenants, who are nevertheless more vulnerable.
So, from the INRS point of view, the idea of the laboratory is to prioritize the least well-off people and to work on territorial equity in districts where there are fewer cycle paths, for example, and difficult access. to services and infrastructure. The greening of neighborhoods with the fewest parks is one of the priority areas. Still in Lachine, scientists are working with the consultation table on the implementation of the inclusive and resilient district of the Saint-Pierre interchange.
“Research can contribute to climate action by facilitating access to knowledge and promoting conversation around various types of knowledge, including the practical knowledge of citizens, which is too often invisible, especially when it comes to of certain population groups such as women, allophones or people from immigrant backgrounds, Indigenous people, etc. », she regrets.
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