"Coffee and Climate Change: What you need to know," 27 Sept 2016

1. Climate change is already causing problems…

2. The effects will be far reaching

…Emma Pinchbeck, head of climate and energy policy at WWF, said that as climate change worsens it is poor communities who bear the brunt of the impacts, especially if they’re dependent for their income on natural resources such as coffee…

3. There are steps coffee growers can take

…[Aaron] Davis [senior research leader of plant resources at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]…added…investing in simple climatic monitoring equipment…gives farmers a better understanding of…what adaptation measures need to be implemented...

4. Farmers need protection from financial instability

Hugo Villela, regional agribusiness specialist at Oikocredit, pointed out…the issue of long-term investors withdrawing their investments if they deem coffee too risky. Fairtrade is one solution…But only a small portion of coffee producers can access this benefit…

5. New technology won’t solve everything

…[N]ot all farmers will be able to afford this technology…and it is not a complete cure…