Climate change is already affecting Europe’s favourite beverage – but small-scale farmers are working on solutions.
The warming climate and extreme weather are responsible for reduced coffee production, which, in turn, also impacts the quality of coffee beans. Sourcing experts say that climate change was partly responsible for the global surge in coffee prices in 2024, which has adversely affected smallholder coffee farms.By 2050, there may be less suitable land for growing coffee. However, farming cooperatives in major coffee-producing countries are fighting back, supported by conscious consumers.‘If coffee isn’t sustainable for farmers, there won’t be coffee to taste’“Every year, the rains start later, and the average temperature is higher,” warns Silvia Herrera, a coffee farmer in Chiapas, Mexico.Elders in her farming community say that it was much easier to grow coffee 25 years ago, Herrera tells Euronews Green. Meanwhile in Colombia, Fairtrade coffee farmer Jaime Alberto García Flórez has seen temperatures rise so much in recent decades that lower parts of his land have become too hot for growing coffee. He has been forced to replace coffee bushes with cocoa instead.With changing rainfall and weather patterns, farmers are all too aware that an entire harvest can be lost overnight. And by 2050, 50 per cent of the global surface area currently used for coffee farming may no longer be suitable, according to a study from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences.While this is devastating for farmers’ livelihoods, it also affects the millions of Europeans who enjoy a morning cup of coffee.“If coffee isn’t sustainable for farmers, there won’t be coffee to taste,” Herrera concedes. Coffee is especially vulnerable to climate change as it’s a “very temperature-sensitive crop”, explains Max Milward, Fairtrade Foundation’s sustainable sourcing manager for coffee.He adds that not only does “more extreme and unpredictable weather cause more pests and faster-spreading diseases” but that it’s “deepening poverty and inequality” and “threatens farmers’ ability to farm in the future”. Higher coffee prices create volatility for most farmersIn 2024, the global coffee market experienced a significant surge in prices, caused in large part by adverse weather in several coffee-producing countries. In Vietnam, a major producer of robusta beans, crops were damaged by prolonged heatwaves, while Brazil – which produces the global lion’s share of arabica beans – had a poor harvest due to heavy rainfall. These events led to a fear of global coffee shortages that caused the prices to soar. “While higher coffee prices may seem beneficial for coffee farmers, the reality is often very different,” says Milward. “Sudden price surges, particularly after a contract has been fixed, can cause a huge strain on coffee cooperatives, can lead to contract defaults, fines and of course reputati
Will we still drink coffee in 25 years? That depends on climate change
