Climate Change Threatens £3 Billion Worth of UK Food Imports, Report Warns

A new report has revealed that approximately £3 billion worth of UK food imports originate from countries facing severe climate-related threats, raising concerns about the nation’s food security. The research, conducted by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), reveals that a substantial portion of imported goods, including rice, tea, and mangos, originates from the top 20 countries with the highest number of internally displaced people due to extreme weather events.

Pakistan, the UK’s second-largest supplier of rice, offers a stark example of the risks. In August 2022, the country experienced three times its usual monthly rainfall. Scientists have concluded it is “likely” that climate change played a significant role in this catastrophic monsoon season.

The resulting floods displaced millions of people, destroyed infrastructure, and caused billions of dollars in crop damage. Analysis by World Weather Attribution has found that flooding in northern Pakistan this year has been made 15 per cent more intense because of climate change.

These weather extremes have a direct impact on UK households. Between 2022 and 2023, the price of rice in the UK rose by 33 per cent, with climate change contributing an estimated £361 to the average household’s annual food bill.

Food Security Risks for the UK

Extreme weather and mass displacement are not the only threats; other challenges also exist. The UK’s food industry also faces systemic risks that could have severe long-term consequences. Earlier this year, a group of senior figures from within the sector sent an anonymous letter to investors. In it, they warned that many companies are failing to disclose the accurate scale of climate-related threats. They claimed that public narratives about building resilience, whether through investing in alternative ingredients, developing new supply regions, or changing sourcing strategies, are often overly optimistic.

The letter cautioned that companies are underestimating the combined effect of multiple players making the same adjustments at once. This lack of foresight, they argue, could cause cascading disruptions that overwhelm global supply chains and trigger sudden shortages.

Gareth Redmond-King, Head of the International Programme at ECIU, put the problem into perspective: “UK farmers are being hit by extremes of wet and dry, threatening livelihoods, yields and our food security. But when floods and droughts force farmers overseas to leave their homes, they often head to the cities. This not only breaks apart rural communities, it also raises a pressing question — who will grow the food we need to import, such as rice?”

“We saw during the recent floods in Pakistan how farmers fled the land. The price of rice shot up.

“If we are to continue to import the foods from abroad, we can’t grow here; the UK is increasingly going to have to support these farmers through climate finance. Ultimately, unless we reach net zero emissions, we don’t stop climate change, and these threats to our food security will continue to worsen.”