Climate, Commodities and Conflict: High price for a loaf of bread

Food insecurity affects one billion people in the world today. Declining agricultural outputs, thought to have been exacerbated at least in part by climate change, have led to a spike in the price of food.

With increasing numbers of vulnerable communities unable to feed themselves, protect their livelihoods, or being forced to migrate, the potential for social unrest and conflict in some of the world’s most vulnerable countries is ever more pressing.

Rob Bailey, Senior Research Fellow, Energy, Environment and Development Programme at the leading think-tank Chatham House, explored the complicated links between climate change, commodities and conflict, particularly in the developing world.