{"id":20854,"date":"2025-10-09T21:01:57","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T21:01:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/?post_type=rbc_tl&p=20854\/building-blocks-of-a-carbon-competitive-canada"},"modified":"2025-11-07T15:18:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T15:18:17","slug":"cultivating-the-next-generation-of-ag-innovators","status":"publish","type":"rbc_tl","link":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/climate-action-institute\/climate-crunch\/cultivating-the-next-generation-of-ag-innovators\/","title":{"rendered":"Climate Crunch: Cultivating The Next Generation of Ag Innovators"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Hot takes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 The IEA has tempered Canada\u2019s renewable energy growth forecast.<\/strong> The International Energy Agency\u2019s latest report still expects Canada<\/a> <\/strong>to add 21 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2030, almost double the growth of the previous six years, mainly in onshore wind and utility-scale solar PV. However, that\u2019s an 11% decline from the IEA forecast from last year. Ongoing grid challenges and policy and regulatory changes in Alberta were among the key reasons for the IEA pulling back its forecast. It\u2019s a major reversal elsewhere too, with the U.S. and China\u2014the world\u2019s two largest renewable energy markets\u2014facing slower growth amid policy shifts, supply chain vulnerabilities and financing pressures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2794 Can Canada attract H1-B visa types that are no longer welcome in the U.S.<\/strong> For all the talk of Canada capitalizing on U.S.\u2019s visa snarls to attract the world\u2019s brightest and smartest comes a sobering stat: it takes 53 months for Canada to issue a Start-Up Visa (SUV). A new Betakit<\/a><\/strong> study shows that the decade-old program has been facing several challenges, while the government has also slowed the process as part of a wider immigration slowdown. Getting some of the world\u2019s smartest climate, cleantech and innovative minds would require some quick thinking\u2014and processing\u2014from policymakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 David Greybeard made Jane Goodall.<\/strong> The chimpanzee, with the silver facial hair, was the first animal conservationist Goodall<\/a> <\/strong>saw using tools and eating meat\u2014sparking a lifelong quest by the conservationist in her pursuit of a greener and richly-biodiverse Earth. She anthropomorphized animals (pointedly rejecting the established practice of using numbers to identify animals by naming Greybeard and his family). By making it personal, Goodall\u2014who died last week, aged 91\u2014lifted them up and, through the Goodall Institute saved countless (though not nameless) species. Goodall was ahead of the curve, but her focus on nature is finally gaining traction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 Further reading:<\/strong> Unearthing Value: How nature can play a critical role in pro-growth agendas – RBC<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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Cultivating the next generation of Ag innovators<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Canada\u2019s agriculture sector has all the ingredients to be the best in the world\u2014productive soils, temperate climate, advanced on-farm mechanization, and a growing agri-food manufacturing sector. But capitalizing on the moment, won\u2019t be easy, according to a new RBC Thought Leadership report<\/a> <\/strong>. The sector has struggled to attract the right mix of talent and maintain the level of investment in R&D that is required to remain a global leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research by Lisa Ashton, Director of Agriculture Policy, highlights the scale of the challenge:<\/p>\n\n\n\n