The Real News Network
DHARNA NOOR: The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the world’s leading climate science body, just wrapped up discussions in Geneva, Switzerland on a new special report on Climate Change and Land. And honestly, it’s bleak, but it’s not too late to act. Here’s what you need to know.
The climate crisis is already having a huge impact on land. Heat waves, droughts and severe storms are affecting ecosystems around the world, and that’s had a significant impact on food production. It affects both crop yields and animal agriculture. The way we use land is also itself a major contributor to the climate crisis. Some 23% of all of humanity’s greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture, food production, deforestation, and other land use. If we keep emitting greenhouse gases, we’re going to have an unprecedented massive food crisis, especially in tropical and subtropical areas. Global rising temperatures are going to make it hard to grow food and can impact the nutritional value of crops. The report also looked at food price spikes. We can’t say climate change is the cause of them, but they’ve been triggers or stress multipliers that can contribute to food becoming more expensive.