The Office of the President of the United States announced a significant expansion of the White House Climate Data Initiative yesterday in Washington, D.C. Through a partnership with the Kellogg Company, the Institute on the Environment’s Global Landscapes Initiative will support this effort by providing maps and data showing the potential impacts of climate change on global agriculture.
“Through his Climate Data Initiative, President Obama is calling for all hands on deck to unleash data and technology in ways that will make businesses and communities more resilient to climate change,” said John P. Holdren, President Obama’s Science Advisor, in a press release. “The commitments being announced today answer that call by empowering the U.S. and global agricultural sectors with the tools and information needed to keep food systems strong and secure in a changing climate.”
The Kellogg Company is working to bring climate smart agricultural practices to regions of the world with a focus on rice — a commodity uniquely impacting and impacted by climate change. Data and maps provided by the Global Landscapes Initiative will foster geographically relevant implementation of global sourcing for the company.
According to Paul West, co-director of the Global Landscapes Initiative, “More food needs to be produced to meet growing demand while we also work with partners to create sustainable supply chains from field to plate. Meeting this challenge within a changing climate is a daunting proposition but one that the Institute on the Environment is well-positioned to tackle.”
Looking ahead, Kellogg, the Global Landscapes Initiative, and other partners will use climate data, research, and assessments to guide education and actions that help create efficient, adaptable, and sustainable supply chains, as well as identify information gaps and needs to improve the resilience of the agricultural sector to climate change.
Media contact:
Mary Hoff, Institute on the Environment, maryhoff@umn.edu, (612) 626-2670
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