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Provided by: Council on Foreign Relations |Published on: February 9, 2026
Podcasts
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Synopsis
This episode from the Council on Foreign Relations podcast Why It Matters explains how climate change is impacting the coffee industry.
Students will learn how important coffee is economically and socially, how coffee crops are being impacted, and what solutions there may be to save coffee.
This podcast episode features many experts on the topic to provide information from a variety of perspectives.
The episode leaves listeners hopeful by discussing possible solutions at the end.
Prerequisites
Before listening, teachers may want to highlight Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, Indonesia, and Ethiopia on a map, as these are the countries that will be referenced as the primary coffee-producing countries.
There are brief references to alcohol in this podcast episode.
Students should understand climate change, its causes, and its impacts, such as temperature rise and extreme weather.
Teachers may want to introduce or review the terms mitigation and adaptation.
Listeners can find the transcript for the episode under the show notes and links to additional resources.
Differentiation & Implementation
This issue can be connected to many of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. It may be interesting for teachers to use this as a way to make connections to SDG 5, Gender Equality, regarding the number of women this issue impacts, and SDG 2, Zero Hunger, due to the food security implications.
After listening, students can demonstrate their understanding by answering the question, "How is climate change affecting coffee production, and what are the economic and social implications of this?"
Students can check out this article to learn more about agroforestry and other agricultural solutions that can address issues in the United States and other regions.
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CFR Education from the Council on Foreign Relations
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