Climate Change Threat to Arabica Coffee Crops

It’s a case of can’t live with them, can’t live without them: Agriculture and other industries rely on energy produced by coal and other fossil fuels, yet climate modeling is predicting tremendous disruptions for other industries from the consequences of climate change. Arabica coffee is just one example. Rising temperatures and extreme weather patterns could increase pests and diseases, reducing areas suitable for wild Arabica coffee, according to researchers who conducted a series of climate-modeling reports. The coffee industry depends on wild Arabica for its genetic diversity, reports BBC News, and Arabic accounts for 70 percent of global production. Researchers urge maintaining reserves for Arabica. The UK-Ethiopian team of researchers emphasize that the climate-modeling reports are not designed for scaremongering, but rather for governments to prepare and take actions to blunt the ongoing effects of climate change. – YaleGlobal