Climate Change Could Determine Spike in Food Prices, Argues Oxfam

A new report by Oxfam (i.e. an international confederation working to improve the living conditions of poor people in more than 90 countries worldwide) warns that, as a result of global warming and associated changes in environmental conditions, global food prices are likely to considerably increase.

Naturally, those living in underdeveloped, and even in developing regions will be the first to experience the negative consequences of this phenomena, but it seems that nations whose economy is relatively well developed will also be affected.

Their report, entitled “Extreme Weather, Extreme Prices,” supposedly, “shows how extreme weather events in a single year could bring about price spikes of comparable magnitude to two decades of long-run price rises.”

Furthermore, “It signals the urgent need for a full stress-testing of the global food system in a warming world.”

According to this research commissioned by Oxfam, the frequent and unpredictable extreme weather manifestations brought about by climate change are bound to create significant food shortages and thus impact on global markets, causing prices to spike rather than simply increase at a steady pace, as other reports have shown.

Faced with these new environmental conditions, some countries might have no choice but to ban exports, something that will only add increased strain on an already vulnerable global food system.

Naturally, this could in turn lead to social and political conflicts.

In plain numbers, should a new drought hit the US territory by 2030, the price for maize on international markets could go up by as much as 140%, whilst world market prices for wheat are likely to increase by 33%.

As well as this, poor rice harvests in India and South East Asia could increase the global export price for this grain by 25%, provided that both said regions are hit at the same time.

“Climate change could lead to a permanent increase in yield variability and excessive food price volatility, however, which could leave many poor countries with potentially insuperable food security challenges. The urgency of immediate action to cut emissions and to facilitate and fund adaptation could not be starker,” further warns this report.

Via: Climate Change Could Determine Spike in Food Prices, Argues Oxfam