Coffee and Climate Change Primer

by

Editorial Policy

Published on

Last updated on

[A] new report lays out the impending effects of climate change in a brisk, brutal sixteen pages. It’s not fun reading, but it’s important. Fairtrade Australia and New Zealand commissioned the Climate Institute, an Australian based advocacy group, to produce the report, called A Brewing Storm.

If you’ve been paying attention to climate change’s effects on coffee, this information will be familiar. But even if the document doesn’t provide anything new in terms of research, the compilation of the data and the accessibility of its presentation is a worthy effort.

The baleful studies and white papers about the coming, and already arrived, ravages of climate change often have diminished impact because they come in as a constant drip. No one of them hits particularly hard. This short report lands like a haymaker. 

Just take these three points:
• By 2050, 50 percent of current coffee country won’t be viable.

• Tanzania’s coffee productivity per hectare has fallen by half as average temperatures have increased.

• Coffee leaf rust and the berry borer beetle are creeping up latitudes and mountainsides as temperature increases expand their habitat.

The report also lays out, starkly, how vulnerable coffee laborers and smallholders are. Even without the threat of climate change disrupting or destroying their livelihoods, coffee laborers are faced with the vagaries of the commodity market, the randomness of weather, the difficulty of just picking coffee, not to mention uncommon but real problems like modern slavery and wage exploitation. A smallholder whose farm suddenly can’t grow quality coffee or is overrun by borers doesn’t have many options for surviving major climate shifts, which are underway already.

The report lays out what consumers can do to help (basically, buy the right coffees from companies with the right practices), but it leaves the call to action pretty vague for coffee companies. That’s a gap in the report. To make it clear: all the difficulties climate change is bringing to coffee country will hit coffee roasters and cafés too.

—Cory Eldridge

Share This Article

Cory Eldridge

Join 7,000+ coffee pros and get top stories, deals, and other industry goodies in your inbox each week.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.


Other Articles You May Like

What’s the Deal with Mushroom Coffee?

Many brands are launching new products pairing mushrooms and coffee. A look at science and history reveals what’s driving this pairing.
by Leah Bowman | September 20, 2023

What You Need to Know About Barista Certification Programs 

Barista certification programs promise to teach learners new skills and can help with career advancement. But do they fulfill that promise? 
by Valorie Clark | July 21, 2023

The Cup In Hand: How Shape and Design Affect Coffee Drinking

The shape, weight, and feel of a cup can have a significant impact on the way you experience the flavor of coffee.
by Mikey Rinaldo | March 22, 2023

The Challenges of Coffee Certifications Go Beyond The Retail Shelf

Coffee certifications can be a valuable tool for farmers and roasters—but can be cost-prohibitive and difficult to navigate. We explore the benefits and challenges of certification programs before a coffee ever reaches the shelf.
by Anne Mercer | February 24, 2023