Coffee is a key global crop and the second most valuable commodity exported by developing countries. Worldwide, around 2.25 billion cups of coffee are consumed each day. But a new report, A Brewing Storm, finds that coffee is highly vulnerable to climate changes already underway.
In the next few decades, coffee production will undergo dramatic shifts — broadly, away from the equator and further up mountains. Production will probably come into conflict with other land uses, including forests. By 2080, wild coffee, an important genetic resource for farmers, could become extinct.
The report notes that leading global coffee companies, such as Starbucks and Lavazza, publicly acknowledge the severe risks posed by climate change to the world’s coffee supply. Consumers are likely to face supply shortages, impacts on flavour and aroma, and rising prices. Much worse, many growers are likely to lose their livelihoods. Over 120 million people in more than 70 countries rely on the coffee value chain to make a living. Many countries where coffee exports form a main plank of the economy are also amongst the most vulnerable to climate risk.
A Brewing Storm was produced by the Australian Climate Institute for Fairtrade Australia and New Zealand. Find the report here.
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