Farmers are on the frontline of climate change: for millions of farmers and communities around the world, especially in the Global South, the impacts of climate change are a daily reality.
High temperatures, droughts, floods, extreme weather, crop diseases, soil erosion and polluted ocean waters threaten livelihoods and food security. We all depend on farmers to produce the food we need to feed a growing global population: consumers, retailers and traders. Eighty percent of the world's food comes from 500 million small farms. When they suffer, we all feel the impact. Some studies suggest that a rise of just 1 degree could reduce yields of staple crops by 5 to 10 percent.
Climate change is unfair. It is often those with the smallest carbon footprint who are hit hardest. No one knows this more than Fairtrade farmers and producers, some of whom are already suffering loss of land, crops and livelihoods. Extreme weather and rising temperatures are already impacting the production of key Fairtrade commodities such as coffee, cocoa and tea.
How Fairtrade addresses climate change
Fairtrade's unique two-pronged approach helps farmers become more resilient to climate change whilst giving consumers, retailers and traders the opportunity to reduce their carbon footprint – all underpinned bythe Fairtrade Climate Standard .
First, farmers, producers, and workers can spend their Fairtrade premiums (the extra money they earn from the sale of Fairtrade certified crops and products) on projects like tree planting, irrigation, crop diversification, and clean energy that are more sustainable for their local communities, while also contributing to the global fight against climate change. Fairtrade farmers and workers decide for themselves how to spend their premiums, because they know best what they need to become more resilient.
Second, Fairtrade Carbon Credits in partnership with Gold Standard enable farming communities in developing countries to benefit from access to carbon finance to tackle the impacts of climate change. Farmers get a double benefit from Fairtrade Carbon Credits because they get a minimum price to cover the start-up and operating costs of their projects, plus they can use the Fairtrade Premium from every credit they sell towards adaptation and mitigation investments.
Comments