Climate crisis causing food price spikes around the world, scientists say

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🗞️ Driving the news: A new study by European research institutions and the European Central Bank finds extreme climate events have driven sharp global food price spikes since 2022, affecting staples like rice, cocoa, coffee, lettuce, and potatoes
• The report highlights a 280% surge in cocoa prices after a 2024 heatwave in West Africa and a 300% jump in Australian lettuce prices post-2022 floods
• The findings come ahead of the UN Food Systems Summit in Addis Ababa this week, where global food security and climate resilience will dominate discussions

🔭 The context: The study adds to mounting evidence that climate change is already undermining agricultural productivity and affordability, with heatwaves, floods and droughts disrupting supply chains across continents
• Food price inflation has become a political flashpoint in elections worldwide — notably in Japan, the U.S., the U.K., and Argentina — as the cost of living strains households
• Meanwhile, governments’ current emissions reduction pledges remain insufficient to keep global warming within the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C target, increasing risks of further shocks

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: The report underscores how climate-driven volatility in food systems disproportionately harms low-income communities and erodes progress on global nutrition and poverty reduction
• It reinforces calls to scale up climate adaptation for agriculture, improve crop resilience, and accelerate emissions cuts to stabilise global temperatures
• Failure to act risks deepening social inequities and heightening geopolitical tensions over food security

⏭️ What's next: The UN Food Systems Summit (July 27–29) will examine pathways to strengthen global food resilience while reducing emissions
• The International Court of Justice will deliver an advisory opinion on states’ climate obligations this week, potentially adding legal weight to calls for stronger action
• Policymakers face rising pressure to align agricultural, trade, and climate policies to protect vulnerable populations and stabilise markets as extreme weather intensifies

💬 One quote: “Until we get to net zero emissions, extreme weather will only get worse — but it’s already damaging crops and pushing up the price of food all over the world,” — Maximillian Kotz, lead author, Barcelona Supercomputing Center

📈 One stat: Climate-linked impacts added an estimated £360 ($482) to the average UK household food bill across 2022 and 2023, according to the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit

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