Rising food prices driven by climate crisis threaten world’s poorest, report finds

High cost of staples due to extreme weather could lead to more malnutrition, political upheaval and social unrest.

Climate change-induced food price shocks are on the rise and could lead to more malnutrition, political upheaval and social unrest as the world’s poorest are hit by shortages of food staples.

New research links last year’s surges in the price of potatoes in the UK, cabbages in South Korea, onions in India, and cocoa in Ghana to weather extremes that “exceeded all historical precedent prior to 2020”.
Such price jumps not only affect local food security and health, particularly for the poorest in society, but have knock-on effects around the world.

Unprecedented monthly temperatures in February 2024 after drought in late 2023 and early 2024 across Ghana and Ivory Coast, where 60% of the world’s cocoa is grown, led to global prices for the commodity spiking by 300%.

The high price of staples can have an impact on public health as low-income households cut back on expensive fruit and vegetables, according to the report from a team including the UK’s Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), the European Central Bank (ECB), the Food Foundation, the Barcelona Supercomputing Center and Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.

The study investigated examples across 18 countries between 2022 and 2024 where price spikes were associated with heat, drought and heavy precipitation.