Fairtrade body in climate change warning

Climate change is threatening farmers in poorer countries and some of the UK’S favourite foods they produce, from coffee to chocolate, the Fairtrade Foundation warns.

The organisation is calling on the government and businesses to do more to tackle the “hidden” emissions in supply chains and imported products, so the UK tackles its full carbon footprint as part of global action on climate change.

And there needs to be more support for farmers in poor countries to cope with the climate crisis and the weather extremes it brings, including paying them a fair price for their produce, it urged.

If current rates of global warming continue, by 2050 as much as 50% of the world’s land used for coffee farming may no longer be suitable for the crop, a report by the Fairtrade Foundation warns.

Adverse climate conditions could trigger drastic declines in banana yields in 10 countries, including India, Brazil and Colombia.

It would be bad news for chocolate lovers and producers too, as many regions in Ghana and Cote d’ivoire, which produce more than half the world’s cocoa, would become too hot to grow the crop.

The UK has set legal targets to reduce its domestic greenhouse gas pollution to “net zero” by 2050, to play its part in curbing climate change.

But Britain is also responsible for emissions created overseas in producing goods that are imported for consumption here, which make up almost half of the total carbon footprint for the country, the report warns.