The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently released a report on climate change and land, and the EEA assessment is consistent with its key findings.
The effects of climate change are anticipated to reduce farming production by 50% over the following 30 years (EEA). The report concentrated on significant issues related to climate change that affect agriculture in the European Union (EU) and its outlook going forward according to a report by the European Environmental Agency.
Additionally, it provided an overview of how EU policies and programmes address adaptation to climate change and provided examples of workable and effective adaptation measures.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently released a report on climate change and land, and the EEA assessment is consistent with its key findings.
Climate impacts have resulted in poorer harvests and higher production costs, which have an impact on the price, quantity, and quality of farming products in some parts of Europe, claims the report. While there are areas of northern Europe where crop conditions are expected to improve due to climate change, crop productivity in southern Europe is expected to decrease.
“The yields of non-irrigated crops like wheat, corn, and sugar beet are predicted to decline in southern Europe by up to 50% by 2050, according to projections using a high-end emission scenario. By 2050, there might be a sizable decline in farm income, with significant regional variations.”
“In a related scenario, it is predicted that by 2100, farmland values in some southern European countries will fall by more than 80%, possibly leading to land abandonment. Additionally, trade patterns are impacted, which has an impact on agricultural income.
In the EU, food security is not in danger, but rising food demand globally could raise food prices in the coming decades, the report said. In Europe, the negative effects of climate change are already apparent. Extreme weather, such as the recent heatwaves that affected many areas of the EU, is already costing farmers and the EU’s agriculture industry money.
Although longer growing seasons and better crop conditions may result from future climate change, according to EEA, these benefits will be outweighed by the rise in extreme events that will negatively impact the sector.