How global warming is driving up food prices

Rising food prices are one of the most visible consequences of global warming. A study published Monday, July 21, in the journal Environmental Research Letters documents the effect of extreme weather events (droughts, heat, heavy rainfall) on food prices from 2022 to 2024 worldwide, using fifteen examples. This analysis was conducted by researchers from the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (Spain), the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (Germany), the European Central Bank, and the University of Aberdeen (United Kingdom). "Until we achieve carbon neutrality, extreme events will only increase, as they already destroy crops and drive up prices worldwide," emphasizes Maximilian Kotz, a researcher at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center and lead author of the study.

Crops whose production is concentrated in a limited geographical area have prices that are highly sensitive to climate variations. Spain, for example, produces two-fifths of the world's olive oil. However, following the major drought that affected southern Europe in 2022 and 2023, the price of the precious green gold rose by 50% over a one-year period across the European Union.

You have 78.01% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.