Climate change is an ongoing problem that is affecting our planet. Not only is it affecting our water levels, our wildlife, but it’s also affecting our coffee production. Will coffee become a luxury, instead of a necessity? What would we do without our morning cup of coffee on a cold winter’s day? Here we’ll discuss how climate change might mean the end of coffee for us.
With the exception of water, coffee is the most consumed beverage in the world. Additionally, coffee creates millions of farming and production jobs across the world. But as climate change is creating droughts and heat waves across the world, our beloved coffee plantations are at risk.
According to the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), half the coffee plantation land in the world will be unfit by 2050. Climate change will largely affect the Arabian bean, which only grows in a specific temperature range. This coffee bean is responsible for more than half the coffee production worldwide. A solution for this would be the Robusta bean as it’s more adaptable to heat, however, it doesn’t do well in precipitation. Although it’s a solution, both coffee beans suffer from pests, which creates over $500 million in loss yearly. These pests are also spreading due to warmer climates, as they thrive in warm conditions.
Already in 2014, a severe drought hit Vietnam and Brazil, and the droughts are on-going. These two areas create the highest amount of coffee production in the world. Brazil only saw 10% of it’s usual rainfall in 2014. Additionally, the rising heat escalated an outbreak of a plant disease, affecting the coffee plantations. This lead to $250 million in damage. Afterwards, the Arabian bean almost doubled in cost, in one year alone. Meanwhile, droughts are getting worse yearly.
A solution for this would be to cut our gas emissions significantly. Cutting our gas emissions would lead to a significant cut in lost land for the Arabian bean, with only 43% of lost land compared to an astounding 58% if nothing is done, says the CIAT. The Robusta bean land loss could range from 51%-64%. CIAT is working to preserve land through shading techniques and a wider range in coffee beans that withstand hasher climates. The CIAT is also working on creating a larger control on pests, naturally. Large coffee companies, such as Starbucks, are partnering up with more than 100 companies in order to create better coffee production, that can adapt to climate change. Coffee-lovers have a role to play too when it comes to climate change. We should choose more resilient coffee varieties, which would help coffee lands in the future.
Although the future looks grim, especially when we’re at risk of losing our go-to morning coffee, there is a silver-lining. If we decide to make a change by cutting our gas emissions and choosing different coffee options, we could preserve our coffee. Not only will we be preserving our coffee, but all the other nasty things that come with climate change, if we decide to make a difference.
Source: Espresso Gurus