Climate Change, Urban Expansion, and Food Production

Felipe Dizon, Hina Sherwani, Rui Su

Where and how cities grow will influence food production and the risks to food production. This paper estimates the overlap of future urban expansion in 2040 and 2100 with current crop and livestock production under different climate scenarios. First, it finds that urban areas will expand most into areas with fruits, vegetables, and chickens, and urban areas will expand most under a scenario with significant challenges to climate change mitigation. Second, the share of food producing areas that will overlap with urban expansion will be largest in Africa, particularly under a scenario of significant challenges to climate change adaptation. Third, across all scenarios, urban expansion is likely to take place in areas with higher crop or livestock production, but even more so when there are significant challenges to both mitigation and adaptation.

Event: World Bank Land Conference 2024 - Washington

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Document type:Climate Change, Urban Expansion, and Food Production (1388 kB - pdf)