Climate Risks to Trade and Food Security: Implications for Policy

This policy brief, based on a quantitative assessment of six key agricultural commodities, argues that transboundary climate risks to global food security are mounting and largely unrecognized, necessitating a shift from national self-interest toward cooperative multilateral adaptation strategies.

• The assessment analyzed transboundary climate risks to trade for six specific agricultural commodities: maize, rice, wheat, soy, sugar cane, and coffee.
• Conventional methods for managing trade risk, including diversification and substitution, are expected to fail as climate change impacts accelerate simultaneously across the globe.
• Climate vulnerabilities may lead to increased geopolitical tension as major agricultural producers attempt to protect their market shares, highlighting the need for a cooperative multilateral approach over national self-interest to avoid undermining global resilience.
• Low-income countries that depend on imports face significant food security risks, making the alignment of public and private adaptation strategies a matter of public policy to ensure a just transition.

APA

K.M., A., M., B., S., C., & S., S. (2021). Climate Risks to Trade and Food Security: Implications for Policy. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/publications/climate-risks-trade-food-security-implications-policy

Chicago

K.M., Adams,, Benzie, M., Croft, S., and Sadowski, S. Climate Risks to Trade and Food Security: Implications for Policy. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2021. https://www.sei.org/publications/climate-risks-trade-food-security-implications-policy.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=K.M. |first1=Adams, |last2=M. |first2=Benzie, |last3=S. |first3=Croft, |last4=S. |first4=Sadowski, |title=Climate Risks to Trade and Food Security: Implications for Policy |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=28 October 2021 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/climate-risks-trade-food-security-implications-policy |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{km2021climate, author = {K.M., Adams, and M., Benzie, and S., Croft, and S., Sadowski,}, title = {{Climate Risks to Trade and Food Security: Implications for Policy}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2021}, month = oct, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/climate-risks-trade-food-security-implications-policy}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }