Climate Change Seen Posing Risk to Food Supplies

In a departure from an earlier assessment, scientists have concluded that rising temperatures will have some beneficial effect on crops in some places, but that globally they will make it harder for crops to thrive -- perhaps reducing production over all by as much as 2 percent each decade for the rest of this century, compared with what it would be without climate change.

And, the scientists say, they are already seeing the harmful effects in some regions.

The warnings come in a leaked draft of a report under development by a United Nations panel, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.  The document is not final and could change before it is released in March.

Climate Change Seen Posing Risk to Food Supplies