UK food system vulnerable to record El Niño: minister — SkimNews
Get the Energy newsletter
Daily energy & climate — solar, EVs, oil, the policy fights and tech bets shaping the transition. Free.
- Katie White warned the UK food system is vulnerable to a record El Niño phase, but pushed back against "panic and fear" after environment minister Angela Eagle urged Britons to stockpile food for storms and flooding
- UK Met Office forecast an unusually warm, wet and stormy autumn and winter, with muddy fields potentially preventing winter wheat sowing as happened during the 2023-24 El Niño and undermining spring barley
- A UK government report warned El Niño could raise UK prices for imported rice, cocoa and coffee, coming after the worst-ever UK harvest of wheat, barley, rape and oats this summer
- China, Brazil and Germany have built up public reserves of wheat, rice, corn and sugar, but the UK keeps no substantial public food reserves, White acknowledged
- White prefers resilience over grain stockpiling; a task force she established with military experts and scientists will meet in October to examine climate security threats including food
- White's Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is reportedly set to approve the Jackdaw gas field off Scotland and may consent to Rosebank oil field, which together would emit at least 275 million tonnes of CO2 over their lifetimes — roughly three-quarters of current UK annual emissions
Why it matters: With the UK importing 40% of its food and holding no substantial public reserves while El Niño threatens both domestic and imported crops, price shocks could hit British consumers with little buffer. The October task force meeting is the next concrete milestone, while White's department simultaneously moves to approve fossil fuel projects emitting 275 million tonnes of CO2 — exposing the gap between climate rhetoric and current policy.
Ask SkimNews
