Members of the Sustainable Coffee Challenge (SCC) unveiled an ambitious commitment to avoid at least 1.5 gigatons of carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 – the equivalent of removing 11 million automobiles from the road each year – by increasing production on existing coffee lands rather than on new land. The goals and targets were agreed at a virtual meeting of the challenge’s members in December 2020.
To drive the individual and collaborative efforts needed to meet this 2050 goal, members of the challenge announced a number of targets for 2025. They include restoring 1.5 million hectares of tree cover and protecting 500,000 hectares of forest, securing 100 million metric tons of carbon dioxide; and meeting growing global demand for coffee by increasing smallholder production by 7% (11.9 million bags) through renovation, rehabilitation, and investments on existing farms.
Other targets unveiled by the challenge include full protection for the labor rights and well-being of coffee workers and establishing living income and wage benchmarks in at least 80% of producing countries that are members of the International Coffee Organization.
Another target is to ensure that at least 50% of global coffee purchased by roasters and retailers is sourced according to sustainable practices that protect the labor rights of farmers and workers, conserve natural resources and provide benefits back to communities where coffee is produced.
“With nearly 160 members from across the coffee sector, [SCC] is uniquely positioned to work together to achieving coffee’s enormous potential to provide livelihoods for millions, help stabilize the climate, and help engage billions of coffee consumers in the quest for a more sustainable future,” said Bambi Semroc, vice president of sustainable markets and strategy at Conservation International (CI), which leads SCC.
To meet growing global demand, coffee production is expected to double by 2050, but unless growing practices are improved, that could mean the destruction of millions of hectares of carbon-rich forests to make room for coffee crops.
In contrast, if grown sustainably, coffee could serve as a “natural climate solution” said Shyla Raghav, CI’s vice president of climate solutions. According to research led by CI’s senior director of natural climate solutions, Bronson Griscom, these solutions – which include the protection, restoration, and improved land management of carbon-rich landscapes – could deliver at least 30% of emissions reductions needed by 2030 to avert climate breakdown.