• Over recent years food prices have been inflated by the pandemic and war in Ukraine, while extreme summer temperatures have exacerbated the problem.
• Soybeans, olive oil, rice, potatoes and cocoa are just some of the crops that have been affected.
• A World Economic Forum report, Green Returns: Unleashing the Power of Finance for Sustainable Food Systems, calls on the financial sector to direct more resources into helping the food and agriculture sector to become more sustainable.

Shortages and supply issues caused by events including the pandemic and war in Ukraine have been felt through food price inflation for some while now.

But for some foods, the impact of climate change is also making itself felt, through record high temperatures and extreme weather.

It’s entirely usual for food prices to fluctuate alongside the seasons, but the exceptionally hot and dry summer 2023 in Europe, the US, Asia and beyond caused poor harvests and many crops to fail.

The climate crisis is making extreme weather – from heatwaves and droughts to storms and floods – more common, and some crops are more susceptible to these changes than others.

Here are five examples of foods where we are already seeing an impact.

Read more: weforum.org

Photo: weforum.org