Climate change and chocolate.

Climate change is reshaping the future of chocolate by threatening cocoa production, disrupting ecosystems, and intensifying sustainability challenges. Rising temperatures, shifting rainfall, and biodiversity loss are destabilizing cocoa yields, while the industry itself contributes to deforestation and carbon emissions. --- 🌍 Climate Change and Cocoa Cultivation • Cocoa trees thrive only in narrow equatorial zones with humid climates, primarily in West Africa, which supplies about 70% of the world’s cocoa. • Rising temperatures (up to 7°C in some regions) and erratic rainfall patterns are reducing yields by 20–31% cremefilledc.... These changes also increase vulnerability to droughts, pests, and diseases. • Research shows that climate variability could make cocoa farming unsustainable by 2036–2045, even with proposed cooling methods. --- 🍫 Environmental Footprint of Chocolate • Cocoa is among the highest carbon-emission foods, contributing significantly to deforestation, pollution, and biodiversity loss. • Expanding cocoa farms often means clearing tropical forests, which worsens climate change by releasing stored carbon. • Chocolate production also involves energy-intensive processing and global shipping.