Nutrition and Climate Change - Current State of Play: Scoping Review

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing both our, and future, generations. In a world where undernutrition is declining very slowly and overnutrition is increasing rapidly, climate change will have multifaceted and severe effects on nutritional status and therefore survival, health and development outcomes. In this scoping exercise, Emergency Nutrition Network (ENN) examined existing linkages between nutrition and climate change and explored if, and how, linkages could be strengthened. 

Our findings showed that nutrition and climate change are inextricably linked through complex, multi-directional pathways. The greatest impacts of the climate crisis and undernutrition will be felt by the same, most vulnerable, populations – women and children and poorer, rural households, particularly those living in fragile and conflict-affected states. While interest in, and awareness of, the climate crisis is growing, efforts to combat it are yet to result in the required political action to limit global warming to agreed levels. Although many gaps remain, evidence for the effects of climate change on undernutrition is growing and actions to strengthen linkages appear to be increasing. Given the many links between nutrition and climate change there is an urgent need to both create and build upon opportunities for these two sectors to work together. Future efforts should focus on more holistic systems approaches to address the threat that climate change poses to achieving universal healthy sustainable diets and well-nourished populations.