The business of climate change: changing sources of green capital accumulation in the coffee sector

Climate change presents a significant challenge while also offering opportunities for businesses to benefit from a decarbonised economy. In this paper, we examine the business of climate change – the process of mitigating risks and seizing opportunities arising from climate-related markets. We contribute to extant discussions on the sources of green capital accumulation and how they are being reshaped to leverage the opportunities offered by climate change interventions. Using the coffee sector as an illustrative case study, we explore how climate change is reshaping business strategies. We focus on mitigation measures, such as carbon offsetting and insetting, and the emerging role of midstream trading companies in providing sustainability assurance and climate mitigation services. We find that while climate change costs and risks are mainly borne by farmers, companies downstream are prioritising the business opportunities related to available climate financing and client demands related to net-zero commitments. Ultimately, we suggest that climate change is providing additional sources of green capital accumulation to mid- and downstream companies in value chains, while at the same time threatening their long-term survival.