b'S T R A T E G Yto provide almost $18 billioncommunity is looking for some towards a green recovery, thatclarity and guidance fromDID YOU KNOW? the government says will fightHealth Canada.climate change, reduce pollu- Im talking about these1. What does NASA actually know about climate change? Well, in addition to space tion, invest in clean technologynovel food consultations inexploration, NASA satellites look at Earths land, air, water and ice, as well as at the and protect the environment,the context of climate change he says. It also proposes a fur- because it speaks to the themesun and the energy it sends out. All of these tools are important for learning about ther $5 billion over seven yearsthat sustainability will alwaysEarths climate and using these tools can help scientists learn about how climate in the Net Zero Accelerator,come up, Zienkiewicz says. Ifmight change.which will assist companies towe want sustainability, we have2. One of the biggest contributors to climate change from agriculture is the overuse invest in reducing pollution toto be able to create innova-get to that net zero target. tive products and technolo- of nitrogen, according to Baute. Largely, thats because nitrogen is eaten by For the seed industry,gies without undue regulatorybacteria and then converted to nitric oxide, which is 300 times more potent as a though, the focus is on mod- burden. greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. ernizing novel food regulations.3. According to the USDA EPA, changes in ozone, greenhouse gases and climate As a part of modernizingSo, Whats Next? these regulations, plants inGoing forward, the industrychange can have a huge effect on agricultural producers. Why? Well, because Canada are regulated on thehas a lot to look atfromagriculture depends on specific climate conditions! Temperature changes can cause basis of the traits expressed,looking at new seed appliedhabitat ranges and crop planting dates to shift, and droughts and floods due to and not actually on thetechnologies to new varietiesclimate change can hinder farming practices.basis of the method thatsto fighting regulatory barriers. been used to introduce theHowever, its not all going to4. To support producers making changes in their carbon emissions, which can in traits, Zienkiewicz says. So,be doom and gloom fightingreturn lower greenhouse gases released into the air, companies such as Indigo novel plant products can beclimate change.and Bayer have started participating in buying carbon credits to offset carbon produced by conventionalTaking climate action seri- emissions.breeding mutagenesis orously means a lot of new jobs, recombinant DNA techniques. Baute says. Theres a lot of5. The Fourth U.S. National Climate Assessment reports that the annual average The problem, Zienkiewicznew energy infrastructure, andtemperature over the contiguous U.S. has increased by 1.2 F over the last few says, is theres a lot of uncer- it means we have an opportu- decades and by 1.8 F relative to the beginning of the last century. tainty about this plan.nity to build back better and A recent survey of plantsucceed. breeders in Canada con- If we had really taken the ducted by Stuart Smith at thepandemic seriously, we might University of Saskatchewanhave all invested in Zoom, found that about half ofhe says. Now, with climate respondents have chosen notchange, we know whats to pursue a research project incoming. If we can act appro- ON THE WEBWHERE the past if they thought it mightpriately, we can treat this as an result in a novel trait, he says.opportunity for success.SW If youd like to listen to Marc, Marcel and Kurtis present more on climate change and its affect on the That means, the seed com- seed industry, listen to our Strategy Webinar at seedworld.com/climate-change-and-the-seed-a-munity and plant breedingseed-world-strategy-webinar-podcast/ENDORSED BY 54/ SEEDWORLD.COMSEPTEMBER 2021'