Tuesday 16 May 2023

Climate change could mean bye bye coffee

Your morning roast could be under threat due to climate change, with the land available to farm coffee set to more than half by 2100.

That’s according to a study by Christian Aid, claiming that if temperatures do not fall in line with the Paris Agreement, the coffee bean could pay the price.

Land for growing coffee will shrink by 54.4% the research alleges, unless more funding is made available in countries such as Ethiopia and Honduras to battle climate loss and damage.

The charity claims the UK government should act on the matter, due to the knock on effect issues with the global industry would have domestically.

As close to 100 million cups of coffee are drank each day in Britain and the sector supports 210,000 jobs – any issues would also lead to employment problems back home.

Half of the UK’s coffee is imported from Vietnam and Brazil, which have both witnessed record temperatures in recent years, with farming yields suffering as a result.

Yitna Tekaligne from Christian Aid said: “The impact of climate change on coffee production is in plain sight, including through high levels of coffee leaf rust.

“There is a lot the UK government can do, starting with using its power to get Western private creditors to cancel the debts of the world’s poorest countries and mobilising the vital finance we need to address the loss and damage caused to our country by the climate crisis.”

Defra has been contacted for comment.