2024 Sustainable Coffee Challenge Report Warns of Coffee’s Carbon Footprint Threatening Climate Goals
In a critical finding that could reshape the future of the coffee industry, the 2024 Sustainable Coffee Challenge Annual Report has issued a stark warning about the sector’s carbon footprint and its potentially dangerous impact on global climate goals. Despite numerous commitments from industry stakeholders, the report reveals that the coffee sector is significantly behind in meeting key sustainability targets set for 2025, particularly in terms of carbon sequestration and reducing deforestation.
The report emphasizes that while coffee producers and industry leaders have pledged to restore 1.5 million hectares of tree cover and sequester 100 million tons of carbon by 2025, progress has been painfully slow. Based on current efforts, the coffee sector will need more than 260 years to meet its carbon sequestration goal. This stark shortfall highlights the urgent need for intensified climate action within the coffee value chain, as the sector continues to face the far-reaching effects of climate change, deforestation, and biodiversity loss.
The report underscores that the industry’s primary strategy for reducing its environmental impact—planting non-coffee trees—has proven inadequate. While tree planting can sequester carbon, the current rate of progress is far too slow to offset the emissions generated by coffee production. Collectively, industry partners have planted millions of trees, which are expected to remove roughly 350,000 tons of CO2 annually. However, this amount represents only a fraction of what is needed to reach the 2025 target of 100 million tons.
The report also highlights a critical issue: many companies are focusing more on activities rather than the impact of those activities. This misalignment is contributing to the lag in meeting environmental goals. With looming regulatory pressures, particularly the European Union’s Deforestation-free Regulation (EUDR) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), companies are expected to face increased scrutiny and must take more aggressive measures to reduce deforestation and environmental degradation within their supply chains.
The 2024 Sustainable Coffee Challenge calls on industry leaders to adopt holistic strategies that move beyond incremental improvements and focus on creating a transformative impact. It stresses the importance of involving smallholder coffee producers in these efforts, ensuring they contribute to climate resilience and forest conservation. With the 2025 sustainability targets fast approaching, the report serves as a reminder that without swift and significant action, the coffee industry could jeopardize both the environment and the livelihoods of millions of people who depend on coffee farming.
In the wake of this report, the coffee industry is at a critical crossroads. If immediate action is not taken to scale up efforts in curbing carbon emissions and protecting vital ecosystems, the consequences could be severe—not only for the future of coffee but for the planet as a whole. Industry stakeholders are urged to invest in innovative climate finance mechanisms, prioritize reducing their carbon footprint, and collaborate more effectively to scale up impactful environmental interventions.
This report is a wake-up call. Without urgent action, the coffee sector risks exacerbating the very environmental crises it aims to mitigate. For an industry that depends heavily on the natural world, the future of coffee sustainability hinges on a unified and aggressive response to climate change and environmental degradation.
