There is no realistic chance of staying below 1.5°C anymore”, was the sobering statement by Dr. Peter Baker. Whereas the overall global temperature rise is now 1.1 to 1.2 °C, the global land temperatures are already at 2°C above pre-industrial levels. Baker outlines how the impacts of climate change lead coffee farmers to migrate or diversify out of the coffee business and also threaten their livelihoods through extreme weather events and socio-politic implications. Baker claims that by now, every country should ideally already have a comprehensive climate adaptation and disaster management team assembled, plans developed and under implementation.​ Only with immediate action, there is a chance to avoid catastrophic impacts on the sector as a whole. However, according to him, efforts of the coffee industry to support farmers so far are often piecemeal and of an inadequate scale: 

“c&c follows exactly such a holistic approach: we innovate, disseminate and implement climate-smart tools and practices in coffee production, provides them to coffee farmers and supports these in diversifying their production. In doing so, we supports farming families in six regions worldwide to effectively respond to climate change and to safeguard their livelihoods. c&c’s strategy furthermore includes building up whole climate smart coffee regions and establishing carbon neutral and zero-deforestation coffee supply chains. “There is a lot of work to be done”, says Ruge. “That’s why we encourage coffee companies and development organizations to join c&c. We want to work together to build a climate-friendly coffee sector.”

Stop hitting snooze! The alarm clock is ringing!

Join us on Wednesday, March 30, at 3:00 p.m. CEST for our webinar: “Missed Wake-Up Call: The Coffee Industry and the Impacts of Climate Change”.

Climate scientist Dr. Peter Baker will give us an extensive review of the status quo and provide a close analysis of what to expect. Join us, as we dive deep into current and likely future impacts climate change will have on coffee-growing regions and farmer communities and explore what solutions are available.

Learn about the third phase of the initiative for coffee&climate (c&c) and how it will continue to work as a partner to smallholder families and their communities, assess risk and vulnerability, identify and implement coping strategies, provide training and access to appropriate methods and know-how on climate-smart agricultural practices to ensure their resilience. As such, it also provides a platform to evaluate experiences in partnership and drive the agenda for effective climate action.

In the face of climate change, only straightforward action can secure the livelihood situation of millions of smallholder families and the business opportunities of the coffee industry.

Telling a story everyone in the coffee industry should know, the initiative for coffee&climate (c&c) highlighted the impact of climate change on smallholder families’ livelihoods during Frankfurt Coffee Festival 2021. The 3-day festival organized by the Specialty Coffee Association Germany was the perfect place for passionate coffee lovers to finally reunite. After more than a year of social distancing and postponed events, it was no surprise to see Union Hall filled with energy and inspiration. The venue was overflowing with an excited group of coffee baristas, roasters, and drinkers that travelled from around the country to learn, exchange and come together as part of the coffee community for the entire weekend.

The initiative for coffee&climate is based on the power of pre-competitive partnerships. We are unified by the wish to build a climate-smart coffee sector not by talking, but by acting. As the challenges of climate change for coffee production are too big to be tackled alone, c&c is the ideal solution for the coffee sector to respond together in a practical way that cannot be found in other setups.