Tears in our beer: Climate change could hurt beer drinkers - Bozeman Daily Chronicle
Tears in our beer: Climate change could hurt beer drinkers | Business | bozemandailychronicle.com
Climate change may be very bad news for beer drinkers.
A new report in the journal Nature Communications shows that climate change is responsible for the decrease in quantity and quality of hops produced in Europe. And that trend is projected to continue as climate change is projected to continue.
And in Montana, where all elements of beer are produced, that news could be problematic not just for the state’s hops farmers, but also bad for the beer drinkers.
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Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”