Climate Change Will Put the Squeeze on World’s Wineries & Wilderness

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Could your merlot be growing near the moose, grizzly or elk of Yellowstone National Park soon or in prime panda habitat in China? A new study by a team of international researchers and led by Conservation International suggests that it could. Their key finding: climate change will dramatically impact many of the most famous wine-producing regions in the world today and prompt the opening of new areas to wine production in unusual places, which would likely degrade or put pressure on the critical natural capital and ecosystems that support species and human well-being.

The study appeared today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) and is the first ever worldwide analysis of the impacts of climate change on wine production and conservation. It found that the area suitable for wine production will shrink by as much as 73% by 2050 in certain parts of the globe, with high potential for stress on rivers and other freshwater ecosystems as vineyards use water to cool grapes or irrigate to compensate for rising temperatures and declining rainfall.

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