A complex menu. Understanding the relationship between global food security and climate change

Prof Bill Pritchard, School of Geosciences, University of Sydney; since July 2015 International Faculty, University of Cologne

Abstract: The global community has little real idea of how climate change will impact on food security. Although this issue was examined comprehensively by the Fifth Assessment Report of the IPCC, released in 2014, forecasts are hamstrung by the large number of variables to be considered, and their complex interactions. Nevertheless, the release of that report means that scholars now have, for the first time, a framework for considering this issue. This lecture will critically review the current state of knowledge about the relationship between climate change and food security, paying particular attention to the merit of examining these issues from a geographical perspective that emphasises the importance of scalar interactivity and complex system processes.