Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development: Food and Water Insecurity

The most pressing area of concern at the nexus of climate change and national security is water security. As detailed by the World Bank, the effects of climate change have come and will continue to come through the water cycle; droughts, variable or unpredictable rainfall for agriculture or herding, pollution and contamination, and floods or extreme weather can have devastating impacts. The scarcity or surfeit of water can reverberate through crucial systems, affecting food production, pricing, and availability; energy production; transportation and supply chains; densely populated urban areas; and basic environmental systems. These effects will become more severe as populations, cities, and economies continue to grow and strain increasingly limited water resources. The World Bank estimates that roughly 1.6 billion people already live in countries with water scarcity, and that number could double in just two decades.

Directly related to water security is the issue of food security. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and others, global hunger increased in 2016 following a long decline, affecting 815 million people worldwide, compared with 777 million in 2015.12 The deterioration of food security was particularly intense in areas experiencing conflict, most notably when compounded by extreme weather events affecting water supplies.

The Sankey diagram below shows the contribution of different activities and types of greenhouse gases to overall food system emissions.

Sankey diagram illustrating the breakdown of emissions from the global food system in 2015. Data is shown – from left to right – by gas, sector, stage, category and then gas again. Mouse over the different sections to see the data in percentages. Data from Crippa et al (2021). Chart by Carbon Brief using Highcharts.

The authors note that CH4 accounts for 35% of total emissions from the food system. This is mainly due to livestock production, farming and waste treatment. However, the authors also note that rice – one of the leading food crops – is a “principal source” of methane emissions.

Panelists:

Dr. Peter Carter
Peter is a medically-qualified doctor, with a background in environmental health policy. He is the director of the Climate Emergency Institute, as well as an IPCC Expert Reviewer and co-author of Unprecedented Crime: Climate Science Denial and Game Changers for Survival.

Paul Beckwith
Paul is a Climate System Scientist who has taught at the University of Ottawa in the Laboratory for Paleoclimatology, as well as at Carleton University. Paul is a well know climate educator on YouTube with over 1,000 videos pertaining to climate science.

Regina Valdez
Regina is a Climate Reality Program Director, Leader and Mentor based in New York city. She is also a GreenFaith Fellow and a LEED Green Associate.