Renewable energy sources for arctic food sufficiency and sustainability
One of the UN’s 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs), SDG 7, is to “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.” This goal addresses the need for environmental sustainability while highlighting energy’s vital role in promoting social and economic justice. It calls for sustainable, affordable, modern, and reliable energy usage for the health and well-being of society while mitigating climate change. Here, we briefly review available literature and data to examine how renewable energy, food security, and sustainability are interconnected in Arctic countries and regions, and how these regions can “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all” and progress towards achieving food self-sufficiency by integrating renewable energy sources into food production systems. We analyze several case studies to draw conclusions on how Arctic communities can become resilient, sustainable, and economically prosperous by promoting local food production while preserving cultural practices.
Authors
- Majdi Abou Najm (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8434-2520)
- Trine Eggen
- Meriam G. Karlsson
- Narasinha Shurpali (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1052-4396)
- Belinda Flem (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0653-3380)
- Sandra F. Yanni (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2138-2728)
- David Parsons (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1393-8431)
- Govert Valkenburg (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7045-9878)
- Getu Hailu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3685-4545)
- Arthur Nash
- Paul Eric Aspholm (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6352-1781)
- Tirupati Bolisetti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1164-9684)
- Ranjan Kumar Datta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7511-6583)
- Danielle Wilde (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0151-3110)
- Adrian Unc (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7265-9758)
- Colleen Charles
- Debasmita Misra (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0535-4524)
- Margot Hurlbert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3825-8413)
- Bing Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3426-8879)
- Radha Sivarajan Sajeevan
Institutions
- Geological Survey of Norway (NO)
- Memorial University of Newfoundland (CA)
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (CA)
- University of Alaska Fairbanks (US)
- University of Alaska Anchorage (US)
- University of Iceland (IS)
- University of Southern Denmark (DK)
- University of Regina (CA)
- Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NO)
- First Nations University of Canada (CA)
- Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SE)
- Natural Resources Institute Finland (FI)
- Arctic Research Centre (SE)
- Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NO)
- Ottawa Research and Development Centre
- McGill University (CA)
- University of Windsor (CA)
- University of California, Davis (US)
- Mount Royal University (CA)
Publication Details
- Journal
- npj Sustainable Agriculture
- Published
- 2025-07-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s44264-025-00079-9
- Primary Topic
- Global Energy and Sustainability Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00