Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people at risk of (a) malnutrition and (b) food scarcity as a result of climate change.

Climate change is expected to increase the risk of malnutrition and hunger by increasing the frequency of extreme weather events and disease outbreaks. It will also reduce the quality, quantity and affordability of nutritious diets.

Countries that do not plan effectively for climate adaption are likely to see a reversal of previous improvements in nutrition and food security. Climate modelling has estimated that 2°C warming will result in there being an additional 540 to 590 million undernourished people by 2050. By 2050 there will also be an estimated 10 million more children who will be undernourished as a result of climate change.