Climate Change, Food Security, and Trade: Navigating Through Multiple Crises

The world is afflicted by multiple crises—the debilitating effects of climate change, continuing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and global supply-chain disruptions, soaring food prices, the war in Ukraine, and rising geopolitical tensions. A chief concern is what all these crises mean for food security, especially in the developing world, because progress had already stalled in achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs) of ensuring year-round access to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food for all people and of eradicating all forms of malnutrition. This chapter discusses how trade will have to play an increasingly important role in delivering food from areas with excess supply to areas with shortages. Yet policy measures that disrupt trade in food and agricultural inputs undermine crisis response efforts and long-run adaptation to climate change. These measures take the biggest toll on the poorest and most vulnerable populations.