CO2MORROW

Abstract

The province of South Holland is a key player in the global food economy. However, its agrifood sector is currently generating unwanted outputs. CO2 emissions are the largest and most problematic output flow of this sector, causing negative externalities such as climate change and sea-level rise. Actors producing the CO2 are interlocked into a system and do not have the resources to escape this. This report uses the concept of the circular economy to design out this polluting output flow, while also taking the financial position of the actors into account. The transition to a circular agrifood economy for CO2 has to happen spatially. The available space in the province of South Holland is already under pressure to solve other major challenges, such as land degradation, climate adaptation, decreasing biodiversity and a poor urban landscape relationship. Solving all these challenges separately is inefficient and impossible.
This report explores the possible synergies between mitigating those challenges and the transition towards a CO2 circular (i.e. CO2 neutral) agrifood economy, while also taking spatial justice into account. A future is envisioned of an interconnected metropolitan landscape where CO2 is stored in the form of biomass and where knowledge about a biobased economy is gained and exported to the world. A cross-subsidy CO2 exchange policy based on creating synergies with other challenges is proposed as a catalyst policy for this transition. Furthermore, specific spatial interventions in the form of setting up knowledge parks are also contributing to the transition. The agrifood sector will become much more robust and sustainable by trading CO2 together. The production of biomass mitigates other spatial challenges too, and vulnerable farmers get an additional source of income. With the proposed strategies, the province of South Holland is ready for a sustainable and cooperating tomorrow.