Climate change

Let’s take a look at what a recent scientific paper ACTUALLY said about the impacts of climate change on coffee, versus what the media had to say.

Revised on November 28, 2020

(Updated) Finca Platanillo in San Marcos, western Guatemala is the first coffee farm to be verified by Rainforest Alliance (RA) for compliance with the Climate Module of the Sustainable Agriculture […]

Revised on November 14, 2019

Some like it hot: The influence and implications of climate change on coffee berry borer (Hypothenemus hampei) and coffee production in east Africa. Jaramillo et al. 2011. PLoS One. An […]

Revised on November 14, 2019

Two degrees up

by JulieCraves on July 6, 2011

The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) produced a series of short films on what a changing climate could mean for farming communities in East and West Africa, and South […]

Revised on November 14, 2019

Results from a research project on mitigating climate change in Mesoamerican coffee production.

Revised on November 14, 2019

The Center for Global Development recently released data on the vulnerability of countries around the world to climate change. I’ve taken slices of two maps that show the latitudes where […]

Revised on November 24, 2020

While many of us in the U.S. are shivering through one of the coldest and snowiest winters in recent memory, we need to keep in mind that weather is not the same as climate. Climate change and rising temperatures in tropical regions is and will continue to have a profound impact on coffee growing. Here are some recent resources.

Revised on November 28, 2020

Coffee and climate change resources.

Revised on July 19, 2022

Last spring I posted about a lecture I attended at the SCAA conference on coffee and climate change. I focused on the climate module that Rainforest Alliance is adding to its certification. Part of this initiative was to create a…

Revised on January 9, 2022

At the Specialty Coffee Association of America expo, we attended a lecture on climate change and coffee. Several speakers discussed this topic, but I’ll focus on the climate module that Rainforest Alliance is adding to its certification. This was announced…

Revised on November 28, 2020

Last month, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters announced a request for proposals for four $200,000 grants to organizations working on climate change. The grants will be awarded in each of four categories: transportation-related emissions, threats to coffee-growing communities, building political will,…

Revised on January 7, 2022

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters will award four grants of $200,000 each to organizations with ideas to combat climate change in four core areas: transportation-related emissions (including GMCR’s product shipping), threats to coffee-growing communities (enormous, given that climate change is already…

Revised on November 28, 2020

Rainforest Alliance will be adding a carbon module to their certification for coffee farms (presumably other crops they certify). They are also looking for further incentives to encourage farmers to plant more trees, including developing a system that would allow coffee companies to buy carbon from farmers along with their coffee beans.

Revised on November 24, 2020

In my post, “Why certifying shade coffee is so complex,” I ended with a comment regarding the upside-down nature of shade (or organic) certification. That is, the burden of certification costs are on the producers who are doing the right…

Revised on January 7, 2022

Coffee requires quite specific growing conditions. Its sensitivity to climatic variables means that global climate change is likely to have profound impacts on coffee growing and production.

Revised on November 14, 2019