U.K. potential food crisis
greenhouse gas emissions.
Bows and her team developed a series of scenarios, based on a +2⁰C or a +4⁰C future, each looking at different implications of climate change. More drastic options include the concepts of indoor farms, lab-grown meat, and community cooking centers to replace kitchens and reduce emissions from industry and households.
She said: “The failure of the global community to turn rhetoric into reality and put meaningful policies in place to urgently cut emissions means that we are facing future temperature increases around 4°C which will be devastating to agriculture and fundamentally alter food provision.
“If policymakers and scientists continue to take the complacent and precarious position that a 2°C rise will be avoided, without taking necessary measures to cut emissions, we will have seriously misled those adapting to climate change. The consequence of which will most acutely affect the vulnerable in society.
“In countries like the U.K., policymakers have focused so much on the CO2 emissions linked to energy, that agriculture and food has been overlooked. This report shows that agricultural emissions will be more challenging to cut, placing even greater pressure on the energy sector to decarbonize.
“Much more emphasis needs to be placed on policies to cut agricultural emissions for there to be any reasonable chance of avoiding a 2°C temperature rise. It is absolutely essential scientists and decision makers see the bigger picture. Climate change will likely raise the greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. If Governments like the UK’s want to take action to avoid a 2°C temperature rise, they must reassess their targets to both take account of climate change impacts, and secondly, better understand how U.K. consumption is linked to the emissions right down global supply chains.”
Commenting on the report, Peter Baker, senior scientist at non-profit organization CABI, said: “The authors have vigorously engaged with a wide range of people — it was intriguing to be one of them — as they strived to create some unnerving narratives. A dip into the report should start you thinking; the future won’t be quite like any of the presented scenarios — so where are we going, what will it be like, and why?”
Louise Neville, sustainability officer from Quorn Foods, added: “This report is impressive, as it has the potential to provoke a much needed wake up call to Government, industry and consumers alike — all whilst remaining clear and accessible.
“There is much talk as to the serious challenges to be faced due to climate change but this report succinctly lays out the repercussions in real terms — along with potential ways in which to respond.
“Put simply — our consumption patterns need to become more sustainable. This is a challenge that the food industry can and should play a key leading role in. Regardless, the findings of the report are an essential insight for business.”
This work was funded by the Sustainable Consumption Institute and involved researchers from the Stockholm Environment Institute, the Tyndall Center for Climate Change Research, and the Satake Center for Grain Process Engineering.
