Vital that coffee industry adapts to climate change, Illy chairman says

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🗞️ Driving the news: Andrea Illy, chairman of Illycaffè, highlights that climate change is pushing coffee prices to record highs, driven by unpredictable weather in Brazil and Vietnam
• Arabica futures have surged nearly 70%, while robusta prices have more than doubled

🔭 The context: Coffee production, concentrated in a narrow climatic band, is increasingly impacted by extreme weather from El Niño and La Niña cycles
• Illy stresses the need for long-term adaptation to climate change and calls for public-private investments in renewing plantations and supporting smallholder farmers

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Climate instability threatens the livelihoods of millions of small coffee farmers, making adaptation critical to stabilizing production and ensuring sustainability in the coffee industry

⏭️ What's next: Illy advocates for simpler regulations under the EU’s Deforestation Regulation, emphasizing traceability, self-certification, and a phased approach to support growers without causing economic crises in vulnerable regions like Ethiopia

💬 One quote: "Climate change is giving us the exact opposite of regular climate conditions… it’s unpredictable" - Andrea Illy

📈 One stat: The price of arabica coffee futures has risen nearly 70% in the past year

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