Climate change and hunger: estimating costs of adaptation in the agrifood system

Climate change is a growing challenge for food systems around the world, presenting both changing trends and increased variability in temperatures and precipitation. These changes threaten agricultural productivity, food and nutrition security, health, and the potential for achieving key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for poverty, hunger, and water, among others. Despite these challenges, however, appropriate investments in the agriculture sector can help people and food systems adapt by increasing productivity, resilience, and resource-use efficiency. To help policymakers and other decision-makers evaluate alternative adaptation strategies, this report assesses the cost of adaptation to climate change across a range of future climate scenarios and investment options, with a particular focus on adaptation to offset climate change impacts on hunger.