Govts urged to invest in food cold chains.

ISLAMABAD -- As food insecurity and global warming rise, governments, international development partners and industry should invest in sustainable food cold chains to reduce hunger, provide livelihood to communities, and adapt to climate change, suggests a new United Nations report.

Launched at the 27th climate change conference (COP27) in Sharm El Sheikh on Saturday, the Sustainable Food Cold Chains report, from the UN Environment ProgrAamme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), finds that food cold chains are critical to meeting the challenge of feeding an additional two billion people by 2050 and harnessing rural communities' resilience, while avoiding increased greenhouse gas emissions.

The number of people affected by hunger in the world rose to 828 million in 2021, a year-on-year rise of 46m.

Almost 3.1 billion people could not afford a healthy diet in 2020, up 112m from 2019, as the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic drove up inflation. This year, meanwhile, the conflict in Ukraine has raised the prices of basic grains, threatening food security.

The...