Contenu du sommaire : Climate Change

Mainstream economics and international institutions assert that environmental innovations and market-based drivers provide solutions to prevent climate change and cope with the challenges of COP21. Our paper questions this postulate by analyzing each step of the process of environmental innovation from a systemic approach. We focus especially on eco-design, environmental innovation and its dissemination in the sociotechnical landscape. By analyzing seminal literature, we demonstrate that the beacon of hope for technical change is highly compromised and cannot be considered as a deus ex machina. We show that economic boundaries are taking over the biosphere with market-based governance, and this is unable to prevent climate change. It creates incremental effects and even contributes to rebound effects at a macrosystemic level. Everything also depends on complex institutional drivers based on collective dilemmas such as local versus global scaling and short-term versus long-term scaling. Moreover, the disconnection between eco-design and environmental innovation theory demonstrates that the pluridisciplinarity between social and technical science is necessary to manage the climate change challenge. Finally, preventing or adapting to climate change is therefore not only a technical challenge, but also the milestone for a sustainable transition based on the human activity sphere, including institutions and political issues.JEL Codes: O33, O44, L60

Rural areas are generally considered as less innovative because of the limited agglomeration of activities found within them. There has been little research on innovation in rural areas, whereas there are many environmental innovation projects in these areas. In this study we propose an analytical framework to examine the role of internal organizational factors and environmental factors (sectoral, spatial, and regulatory) that influence the development of eco-innovation projects. We tested this framework by using an original method: the Quantified Narrative Method, applied to five cases studies in French rural areas. Based on in-depth interviews, this method enabled the identification of external resources (nature, mode of acquisition, and location) used by the project. The results show the importance of personal networks – especially local professional networks – and leaders to strengthen the project's absorptive capacity (mobilization of specific local factors, development of related activities). While local resources remain crucial for these projects, remote resources are increasingly mobilized along the projects' path.JEL Codes: O31, R110, Q560

This article investigates the role of a local cluster as a mechanism for addressing the institutional challenges of the green transition, with a focus on how local cluster dynamics shape the position and mobilization of social actors. It involves a case study of Québec's cleantech industry cluster and twenty-five interviews with leading industry, intermediary and union stakeholders representing the diversity of the local industry. We found that in addition to the conventional role of enhancing innovation and commercialization in the local industry, the cluster also plays a formative role in shaping the position and collective mobilization of actors vis-à-vis the green transition, a global social movement toward a greener and healthier world.JEL Codes: L10, O35, O30, P40

In recent years there has been an extensive scientific and public debate on climate change and its direct as well as indirect effects on human health. According to the World Health Organization, climate change impacts health directly, indirectly, and it affects social systems (the effects of undernutrition, induced migration, conflicts). The COP21 conference has highlighted numerous initiatives taken by companies, researchers, associations or public institutions to develop innovations that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote adaptation to climate change. So-called ‘green innovation' policies (associated with low-carbon technologies) are seen as an adequate response to the climate change threat. However, there is still a dearth of empirical work addressing the potential positive impact of low-carbon innovations on health effects attributable to climate change. Therefore, this article investigates the causal effect of low-carbon innovation on the health condition of the population in a sample of developing countries. It provides evidence on the beneficial, yet limited, impact of green innovations on the elimination of environmental risk factors affecting health.JEL Codes: I10, I15, I18, O30, O38, Q54, Q55, Q58

The wine industry contributes to the economy and reputation of many countries all over the world. This sector is likely to be particularly affected, given its extreme sensitivity to any change in climate patterns. This article tries to discover if scientific knowledge has led to recommendations, and to identifying strategies associated with climate change (CC) for wine growers. Based on an original citation network analysis (26 years; 782 papers), it tracks seminal articles on the subject; leading recent developments; and the scientific trajectory of this growing body of knowledge. Findings reveal researchers' relatively recent interest in global warming, more than in CC, and particularly in key variables such as temperature. Although the findings reveal a relative dearth of research on adaptation strategies in the existing corpus, the latter could clearly be beneficial to companies seeking to develop their viticulture strategies.JEL Codes: O3, Q1, Q54, Q55

Research on sectoral systems of innovation has paid little attention to adaptation to climate change, notably in agriculture. This article, therefore, explores the role of systems of innovation in adapting to climate change. It focuses on two case studies in Kenyan agriculture, i.e. the coffee and dairy sectors, which differ in terms of stakeholders and institutional setups. In the coffee sector, the actors' system is highly centralized and the system of innovation is oriented towards technology development. In contrast, the dairy sector consists of a diversity of actors, and its system of innovation is based on institutional building and marketing. The capacity to innovate and adapt, therefore, depends on institutional arrangements in addition to technology development, suggesting that the dairy sector in Kenya could be an example for the coffee sector.JEL Codes: O30, O31, O33

Climate change and increasing extreme events are a major threat to West African farmers, affecting crop production and exacerbating food insecurity. Climate Services, including weather and climate forecasts, are acknowledged as a valuable innovation to support Climate Smart Agriculture. The hypothesis is that agrometeorological information and services can effectively support farmers' decision-making, improving agricultural productivity and increasing farmer incomes. While considerable research effort has been deployed in the development of climate services, the impacts of such services on West African farming communities are still largely unknown. This paper addresses this lacuna, assessing the use and impacts of climate services on farmers' behavior and crop productivity within the Agricultural Innovation Systems of four countries: Mauritania, Niger, Ivory Coast and Ghana. The results of this quali-quantitative assessment demonstrate that farmers use the information for a variety of choices with related impacts, which vary by country and agroecosystem.JEL Codes: Q16, Q54, Q55, Q56

The holistic concept of the “farm to fork” approach to food safety embraces all elements which may have an impact on the safety of food at every stage of the food chain. Applying this approach means that food safety is not solely a matter of end-product testing or inspection in primary production, the processing plant or in the market, but also emphasizes the need for interaction between all participants in the entire food chain, also taking into consideration all possible aspects that might have an impact on food safety, such as climate change, demographics and the economy. This approach requires interdisciplinary cooperation and the effective communication of all relevant information throughout the food chain. In this paper, holistic approaches for food safety and food security management, such as the “One Health” concept, bioeconomy and omics technologies, are discussed.JEL Codes: Q56, L66, Q18, I15