They came up with a best-case scenario
that predicts a 38 per cent reduction in land capable of yielding Arabica by
2080. The worst-case scenario puts the loss at between 90 per cent and 100 per
cent.
There is a “high risk of extinction”
says the study, which was published in the academic journal Plos One.
That would be bad news for both coffee
drinkers and coffee-producing countries such as Ethiopia, Brazil and Colombia,
which in 2009/2010 shipped some 93 million bags of coffee around the world,
worth an estimated $15.4 billion.
Most coffee is made from Arabica
beans. They are prized for their genetic diversity and grow best at between 18
C and 21 C. Above that, the plants ripen too quickly — which affects taste — or
grow too slowly. Other coffee stems from Robusta beans.
The study goes on to note that its
results are “conservative” because it did not take into account the large-scale
deforestation of the Arabica-suitable highland forests of Ethiopia and South
Sudan.
Read complete article here.
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Thank you for keeping the subject of climate change alive. Such an important issue that we all need to keep in mind when we elect our government representatives. Also, we can do our part in many small ways by reducing our consumption of fossil fuels by driving less, and passing legislation to protect our environment.
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