{"id":10758,"date":"2025-02-13T13:22:50","date_gmt":"2025-02-13T10:22:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/?p=10758"},"modified":"2025-02-13T13:22:50","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T10:22:50","slug":"cocoa-crisis-climate-changes-toll-on-chocolate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/cocoa-crisis-climate-changes-toll-on-chocolate","title":{"rendered":"Cocoa Crisis: Climate Change\u2019s toll on Chocolate"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Cocoa crisis: Climate change threat to chocolate laid bare in new report ahead of Valentine\u2019s Day<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cocoa prices have risen 400% in recent years as study shows climate change made 2023 heatwave in West Africa 10 times more likely.<\/li>\n<li>British chocolatiers feeling the heat: \u201cIt\u2019s a nightmare, I don\u2019t think any business involved in chocolate has avoided this impact, and it\u2019s all down to <a title=\"Whale Falls: Lessons on Biodiversity and Climate Change\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/whale-falls-lessons-on-biodiversity-and-climate-change\">climate<\/a> change.\u201d \u2013 Andy Soden, Kernow Chocolate<\/li>\n<li>In 2024, human-caused <a title=\"Education and Climate Change: A focus on International Day of Education 2024\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/education-and-climate-change-a-focus-on-international-day-of-education-2024\">climate change added 6 weeks\u2019 worth of days<\/a> above 32\u00b0C in 71% of cacao-producing areas across C\u00f4te d&#8217;Ivoire, Ghana, Cameroon, and Nigeria \u2013 temperatures too hot for cocoa growing.<\/li>\n<li>Christian Aid is warning chocolate and the livelihoods that depend on it are at risk and is calling for action to cut emissions and target <a title=\"Critical climate finance challenges in 2024\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/critical-climate-finance-challenges-in-2024\">climate finance<\/a> going to cocoa growers to help them adapt.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Our Valentine\u2019s Day box of chocolates is under threat due to <a title=\"Record extreme weather events fueled by climate change in 2024\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/record-extreme-weather-events-fueled-by-climate-change-in-2024\">extreme weather<\/a> in the world\u2019s key cocoa growing regions leading to spiking cocoa prices and an uncertain future for cocoa growers.<\/p>\n<p>A new report by the international development charity Christian Aid shows rising temperatures and erratic rainfall has hammered cocoa harvests in Ghana and C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire, where more than 50% of global cocoa is grown. This has slashed the <a title=\"IDF Global Marketing Trends Report 2020 now available\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/idf-global-marketing-trends-report-2020-now-available\">availability of cocoa on the global markets<\/a>, seeing prices soar in the UK and around the world to record highs in recent years \u2013 and the size of our chocolate bars shrink.<\/p>\n<p>The report,\u00a0<em>Cocoa crisis: How chocolate is feeling the bite of <a title=\"Climate Change\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/climate-change\">climate change<\/a><\/em>, coincides with new data from research group Climate Central which shows that over the past decade climate change added at least three weeks above 32\u00b0C (89.6\u00b0F) annually during the main cacao crop season (October-March) in C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire and Ghana. Such temperatures are above the optimal temperature range for cacao trees.<\/p>\n<p>In 2024 alone, human-caused <a title=\"Education and Climate Change: A focus on International Day of Education 2024\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/education-and-climate-change-a-focus-on-international-day-of-education-2024\">climate change added six weeks\u2019 worth of days<\/a> above 32\u00b0C in 71% of cacao-producing areas across C\u00f4te d&#8217;Ivoire, Ghana, Cameroon, and Nigeria.<\/p>\n<p>Some of the UK\u2019s favourite chocolate companies are now feeling the pinch from the cocoa crisis, as well as global confectionary giant Nestle, who have spoken out on the threat posed by <a title=\"European School of Sustainability Science and Research- Doctoral Programme on Climate Change Adaptation by Publications\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/european-school-of-sustainability-science-and-research-doctoral-programme-on-climate-change-adaptation-by-publications\">climate change<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>According to the charity\u2019s study, this <a title=\"How forest loss has changed biodiversity across the globe over the last 150 years\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/how-forest-loss-has-changed-biodiversity-across-the-globe-over-the-last-150-years\">year\u2019s cocoa shortage follows a similar crash in production last<\/a> year which saw cocoa prices rise 400% to $12,218 a ton after droughts, floods and climate-related diseases hit cocoa farmers last year. On 18 December 2024, a new <a title=\"Floods, climate change, and storage woes push onion prices to record\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/floods-climate-change-and-storage-woes-push-onion-prices-to-record\">record was set at $12,605 per ton and prices<\/a> have remained stubbornly high ever since.<\/p>\n<p>The cocoa shortage started in 2023, after unexpectedly heavy rainfall during Ghana\u2019s dry season. Total precipitation in <a title=\"Global Transformation of Forest for People and Climate: A Focus on West Africa\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/global-transformation-of-forest-for-people-and-climate-a-focus-on-west-africa\">West Africa<\/a> was more than double the 30-year average for the time of year and the wet conditions caused plants to rot with black pod disease. This was followed by severe drought in 2024. The UN said that Ghana\u2019s 2024 <a title=\"Nearly 68 Million affected by Southern Africa drought\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/nearly-68-million-affected-by-southern-africa-drought\">drought affected more than 1 million<\/a> people, and resulted in terrible crop losses and record-high food prices. According to a study by World Weather Attribution, climate change made the heatwave in West Africa 10 times more likely.<a href=\"https:\/\/reliefweb.lightning.force.com\/lightning\/r\/Case\/500PZ00000PMrAeYAL\/view#_edn1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">[i]<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Osai Ojigho, Director of Policy and Public Campaigns of Christian Aid, is calling for action to cut emissions and targeted <a title=\"Why hurricane Beryl highlights the need for increased UK climate finance\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/why-hurricane-beryl-highlights-the-need-for-increased-uk-climate-finance\">climate finance<\/a> for cocoa growers. She said:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cGrowing cocoa is a vital livelihood for many of the poorest people around the world and <a title=\"Putting humanity first: Addressing conflicts and climate change\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/putting-humanity-first-addressing-conflicts-and-climate-change\">human caused climate change is putting<\/a> that under serious threat. Chocolate is one of the many products that connects consumers in the global north with growers in the <a title=\"Global South Narratives in ITLOS Climate Advisory Proceedings\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/global-south-narratives-in-itlos-climate-advisory-proceedings\">global south<\/a>. Likewise, <a title=\"PhD scholarship in Forest Sciences and Climate change\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/phd-scholarship-in-forest-sciences-and-climate-change\">climate change<\/a>, driven largely by the greenhouse gas emissions of the global north is causing havoc around the world with cocoa farmers bearing the brunt. We need to see emissions cut, and targeted climate finance going to cocoa growers to help them adapt.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Amelia, a 24 year-old cocoa grower in Guatemala, added:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy plantations have been dying <a title=\"UNICEF: Millions of children globally face water scarcity due to climate change\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/unicef-millions-of-children-globally-face-water-scarcity-due-to-climate-change\">due to the lack of water<\/a>, and in terms of how it\u2019s affecting me, there is no food for my family. The cocoa trees are dying, which are usually very resilient. I\u2019m actually not worried that it \u2018may\u2019 happen (climate related crop loss) it\u2019s happening already.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Andy Soden, Kernow Chocolate, said:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cGlobal cocoa production has been impacted for the about <a title=\"Climate change heat\u2019s lasting brain risks for children\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/climate-change-heats-lasting-brain-risks-for-children\">last four years due to a rapidly changing climate<\/a>, and also El Nino and La Nina effects. The layman\u2019s version of this essentially is they are getting the wrong weather at the wrong point in the growing and harvest cycle, which is massively reducing output. Low supply and high <a title=\"Pricing Nature: Can \u2018Biodiversity Credits\u2019 Propel Global Conservation?\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/pricing-nature-can-biodiversity-credits-propel-global-conservation\">global demand have inflated market prices<\/a> globally from a relatively stable market price to upwards of \u00a310,000 a tonne.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor a small manufacturer, this has the potential to put us out of business long term as our wholesale price for 2025 is very close to passing our retail price of 2023. Such is the rapid inflation of the base price. Larger companies can manipulate recipes to remove cocoa products (substituting cocoa butter for dried cream etc) or alter pack sizes. As a small business, making everything by hand, this kind of workaround just isn\u2019t an option, so we have no option but increase pricing and hope that the product remains saleable.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a nightmare, I don\u2019t <a title=\"Climate Change Impact on Beaches: Need for Green Thinking\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/climate-change-impact-on-beaches-need-for-green-thinking\">think any business involved in chocolate has avoided this impact<\/a>, and it\u2019s all down to climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Alexander Carnwath, Head of <a title=\"Minor Foundation for Major Challenges \u2014 Public Awareness on Climate Change\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/minor-foundation-for-major-challenges-public-awareness-on-climate-change\">Public Affairs at the Fairtrade Foundation<\/a>, added:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cEnvironmental sustainability across the cocoa supply chain cannot be <a title=\"Invitation to register for the achieving sustainable forest management through research and development in SADC webinar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/invitation-to-register-for-the-achieving-sustainable-forest-management-through-research-and-development-in-sadc-webinar\">achieved<\/a> without social and economic sustainability. Where cocoa producers are bound by trading relationships that require them to sell below the cost of production, they may be forced to resort to unsustainable practices. The ability of producers to earn a living income, through higher prices for their produce, is a key enabler as well as a precondition for ensuring effective <a title=\"Support for Climate Action\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/support-for-climate-action\">climate action<\/a>. The payment of higher prices by businesses must be accompanied by greater action by governments, especially those in rich countries.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt Fairtrade we believe that the UK\u2019s <a title=\"Navigating indigenous rights, economic growth, and climate change\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/navigating-indigenous-rights-economic-growth-and-climate-change\">economic growth<\/a> is inseparable from trade that benefits farmers across the world. We hear every <a title=\"Mountains High Session on International Mountain Day 2020\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/mountains-high-session-on-international-mountain-day-2020\">day from farmers who tell us that international<\/a> trade is still not fair. In the Trade Strategy due to be published in Spring, the UK government has the power to <a title=\"Climate change drives increase in T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s annual forest fires\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/climate-change-drives-increase-in-turkiyes-annual-forest-fires\">drive change<\/a>. It can do this by ensuring coherence between its trade, development, and <a title=\"Stanford Law School Policy Lab and Bezos Earth Fund report recommends climate-smart forestry practices\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/stanford-law-school-policy-lab-and-bezos-earth-fund-report-recommends-climate-smart-forestry-practices\">climate policies<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe UK government must carefully craft its approach to <a title=\"Trade supports climate mitigation and adaptation in Africa\u2019s agriculture, new data shows\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/trade-supports-climate-mitigation-and-adaptation-in-africas-agriculture-new-data-shows\">trade in a way that supports<\/a> businesses and the livelihoods of the millions of small-holder farmers in low-income countries. This is what will deliver <a title=\"Yunus Environment Hub \u2014 Sustainable Food Systems in East Africa\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/yunus-environment-hub-sustainable-food-systems-in-east-africa\">sustainability in our food<\/a> supply chains.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Aurelia, a 53 year old cocoa grower in Guatemala, said:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cClimate <a title=\"UN Chief urges urgent global action on Climate Change\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/un-chief-urges-urgent-global-action-on-climate-change\">change<\/a> has been killing our crops. This means there is no income because we cannot sell anything.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat is happening is that my planation has been dying. So what has been happening, is death. Death to my crops. The few cocoa trees I had, didn\u2019t develop enough, so we couldn\u2019t use them. The same thing happened to the banana crops, they are dying off. The trees are folding down and dying. The crops have been dying. In the past there was a prediction that this would happen in the future, but it has come earlier and this is because we are not taking care of our motherland, our ecosystems, and this is very worrying for our kids and especially for our grandkids.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Gemma Whitaker, Whitakers Chocolates, said:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt Whitakers Chocolates, we recognise that <a title=\"How the private sector can address climate change\u2019s impact on health\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/how-the-private-sector-can-address-climate-changes-impact-on-health\">climate change<\/a> poses a very real threat to cocoa growers worldwide, from rising temperatures to unpredictable weather that impacts harvests. As chocolate makers, we\u2019re deeply committed to safeguarding the <a title=\"Schneider Electric Foundation: Youth Innovation for a Sustainable Future Program\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/schneider-electric-foundation-youth-innovation-for-a-sustainable-future-program\">future of cocoa by supporting more sustainable<\/a> farming methods, reducing our own carbon footprint, and collaborating closely with our growers and suppliers. That\u2019s why at Whitakers, we support Fairtrade cocoa, ensuring farmers receive fair prices and promoting a secure future for chocolate production. We believe urgent action on <a title=\"Protecting children\u2019s rights in a changing climate\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/protecting-childrens-rights-in-a-changing-climate\">climate change is essential to protect<\/a> both the livelihoods of cocoa farmers and the heritage of chocolate for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the last 2 years, the cocoa industry and every subsequent industry that supplies have seen rapid rises in market pricing, this increase which is completely linked to <a title=\"Climate Change Data Visualization Challenge\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/news\/climate-change-data-visualization-challenge\">climate change<\/a>. The 2 major cocoa producing countries are Ivory Coast and Ghana. They share a land border and unfortunately, get affected by the same weather, and there\u2019s no other country that grows cocoa in enough volume to cover this shortfall.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cocoa crisis: Climate change threat to chocolate laid bare in new report ahead of Valentine\u2019s Day Cocoa prices have risen 400% in recent years as study shows climate change made 2023 heatwave in West Africa 10 times more likely. British chocolatiers feeling the heat: \u201cIt\u2019s a nightmare, I don\u2019t think any business involved in chocolate [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10759,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10758"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10758\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10763,"href":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10758\/revisions\/10763"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cfwt.sua.ac.tz\/ecosystems\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}