Climate change will have a growing impact on Australia’s food systems and supply chains, with rural communities the hit hardest, a study shows.
Extreme weather events will have a domino effect on income, food and nutrient availability, the University of Sydney research published in Nature Food states.
Rural communities will be the first and the hardest hit, according to the study exploring the potential effects of climate change on various sectors and regions in Australia.
More affluent communities will be in a better position to withstand the inevitable financial impact, the study by Arunima Malik from the Integrated Sustainability Analysis group says.
“Climate change can directly impact our economy, livelihoods and health,” Dr Malik said.
“Disruptions caused by extreme weather events can cascade across regions and sectors, resulting in job and income losses and impacts on food availability.”
Previous research shows localised disasters impact the country’s primary, secondary and tertiary sectors.
The latest study says that no matter where you live, climate change will eventually take a toll.
“What plays out globally seems to play out locally as well,” study co-author Manfred Lenzen said.
“Everyone is affected by climate change, even if they’re not in areas directly hit by extreme weather, and the vulnerable are affected most.”
The modelling also found such impacts could lead to localised food price increases and diminished food quality.
Impacts on food production would also lead to broader job losses across the food, transportation and service sectors.
The research integrated a nutritional framework with regional supply chain impacts and employment and income loss models, providing a holistic view of the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events.
The findings could help prepare for the challenge of climate change.
“It is vitally important that communities and organisations have an awareness of these impacts to encourage better mitigation planning and climate change resilience,” said Dr Malik.
