CEOs need to accelerate their action plans to safeguard the production of commodities critical to the global population and economy as heat stress and drought risk rise around the world, according to PwC's report, Climate Risks to Nine Key Commodities: Protecting People and Prosperity, published. The report, which analysed nine commodities across critical minerals (copper, cobalt, lithium), key crops (wheat, rice, maize) and vital metals (zinc, iron, aluminium), finds that although reducing emissions will decrease heat and drought risks, key commodities will still face significant stress, even under a low emissions scenario modelled by PwC. According to the analysis, even if global carbon emissions rapidly decrease (low emissions scenario), 87% of the world's rice production, more than 70% of cobalt and lithium production, and around 60% of the world's bauxite and iron production will be at risk by 2050.
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