Building Resilient And Carbon-Neutral Communities Post COVID

The impact of COVID-19 has been felt disproportionally by remote and rural communities which prior to the pandemic had limited access to reliable infrastructure, secure food supplies, clean water and access to health facilities. As we enter the post COVID era, supply chains have become stressed, there is a back log of patients waiting for routine procedures and our food supplies have become less secure.

Another serious problem the world faces today is Climate Change. Warmer temperatures over time are changing weather patterns and disrupting the usual balance of nature. This poses many risks to human beings and all other forms of life on Earth. Nearly all land areas are seeing more hot days and heat waves; 2021 was one of the hottest years on record. Higher temperatures increase heat-related illnesses and can make it more difficult to work and move around. Wildfires start more easily and spread more rapidly when conditions are hotter. Scientists have further predicted that long-term effects of climate change will include a decrease in sea ice and an increase in permafrost thawing, an increase in heat waves and heavy precipitation, and decreased water resources in semi-arid regions.

In 2021, climate change triggered serious flooding, leading to the collapse of eight arterial bridges in British Columbia, Canada, due to landslides and scour, and submerged thousands of homes and debilitated remote communities. In the scenarios assessed, limiting warming to around 1.5°C requires global greenhouse gas emissions to peak before 2025 at the latest, and be reduced by 43% by 2030; at the same time, methane would also need to be reduced by about a third. Humanity faces an existential crisis.

India and Canada have continuously worked in partnership with researchers of both the sides to develop and deploy low-cost solutions to support healthy communities. In this Joint Call for Proposals, DST, DBT from India and IC-IMPACTS from Canada are seeking joint applications aimed at addressing the issues faced by remote and rural communities in the post COVID world.

For more information, please contact Jill Sherman, International Research Facilitator, at intl.research@lakeheadu.ca.