Addressing the challenges of climate change and biofuel production for food and nutrition security

More than one billion people are suffering hunger and malnutrition in 2009. Food security has deteriorated since 1995 and reductions in child malnutrition are proceeding too slowly to meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of halving hunger by 2015. Three major challenges threaten current and future efforts to overcome food insecurity and malnutrition: climate and global environmental change and the consequent loss of ecosystems’ services, the growing use of food crops as a source of fuel and the food and financial crises. This paper reviews and analyses the current and projected effects of climate change and bioenergy on nutrition and proposes policy recommendations to address these challenges. The first section of the review lays out the public health and socio-economic consequences of malnutrition and explores causes and costs. The paper then analyses the implications of climate and global environmental change and biofuel production for food security and nutrition, addressing strategies for adaptation and mitigation. This analysis includes a number of important socio-economic factors, besides climate change and biofuel production, that are currently impacting food and nutrition security, and that will likely contribute to future effects. The paper concludes with a series of policy proposals and recommendations to adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate and global environmental change placing human rights in the centre of decision making. These proposals include a number of options for improving sustainability and food and nutrition security while addressing the links between climate change and bioenergy demand.