Farmers are on the front lines of climate change, facing increased risk of extreme weather events, such as floods and droughts. Farms are also a key part of the solution, able to sequester carbon, ensure healthy soils, and protect our natural environments. But ensuring that agriculture contributes to combatting climate change and is sustainable for future generations is a global challenge.
On June 15, 2021, Canadian and European Union (EU) leaders at the Canada-EU Leaders' Summit remarked that "under CETA, Canada and the EU cooperate to address climate change and other global environmental challenges." They officially launched a series of joint events to promote sustainability, environmental stewardship and climate action in agriculture, within the framework of the Agriculture Dialogue under the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).
Canada and the EU exchanged ideas and best practices on a number of topics during these events, including soil health, greenhouse gas emissions reductions in livestock, organic farming, better use of fertilizers and sustainable crop protection. Workshops dedicated to each topic explained the policy context (outlining problems, challenges, ambitions, actions) and showcased current best practices as well as research and innovation efforts aimed at addressing these topics. Policymakers, farmers, researchers and representatives of EU Member States and Canadian provinces and territories took part in a series of workshops, with a final report from each workshop culminating in a December 2023 Stakeholders Conference where participants highlighted the importance of continued collaboration. As such, Canada and the EU have continued to work together on a government-to-government workshop which took place on Food Loss and Waste, and are concretizing plans for future collaborative initiatives, including with industry stakeholders.
Workshop: Food Loss and Food Waste – November 14, 2024
Stakeholders' Conference in Brussels, December 5, 2023
Stakeholders' Conference: Potential Paths Forward report
Workshop 5: Sustainable Crop Protection: Pesticide Use in Agriculture, April 25, 2023
- Sustainable Crop Protection: Outcomes report
- Workshop opening and closing plenary sessions, unedited raw video footage (for use by journalists and professionals, 1.13 GB)
Workshop 4: Sustainable Use of Fertilizers, January 25, 2023
- Sustainable Use of Fertilizers: Outcomes report
- Preview: Sustainable Use of Fertilizers (for use by journalists and professionals, 40 MB)
- Workshop opening and closing plenary sessions, unedited raw video footage (for use by journalists and professionals, 1.20 GB)
Workshop 3: Organic farming, June 8, 2022
- Organic Production: Outcomes Report
- Preview: Organic farming (for use by journalists and professionals, 8 MB)
- Workshop opening and closing plenary sessions, unedited raw video footage (for use by journalists and professionals, 1 GB)
Workshop 2: Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reduction in Livestock Production, March 10, 2022
- EU-Canada CETA Agriculture Dialogue Workshop: GHG Reduction in Livestock Production Outcomes Report
- Workshop opening and closing plenary sessions, unedited raw video footage (for use by journalists and professionals, 634 MB)