A new Government Office for Science report highlights long-term risks and resilience challenges in global supply chains, and their implications for the UK and internationally.
Researchers from the Environmental Change Institute and the Oxford Martin School contributed to the project as external experts, providing input through workshops and scenario development discussions on critical uncertainties and resilience challenges.
The report draws on input from Oxford researchers and named expert contributors including Professor Jim Hall, Dr Jasper Verschuur and Professor Charles Godfray. The government study comes at a time of growing concern about the resilience of global trade and supply chains, a theme central to the Oxford Martin Programme on Systemic Resilience.
The report examines issues including climate risks to global shipping networks, vulnerabilities at maritime chokepoints and the implications of geopolitical instability and disruption for global food systems. Researchers associated with the programme have also explored many of these challenges through their work on systemic risks and resilience. A recent study by the team, Assessing the resilience of global grain supplies to compound climatic and non-climatic shocks, examined how multiple climatic and non-climatic shocks could affect global grain supplies.
This latest government report explores how different climate futures and geopolitical developments could shape risks to global supply chains over the coming decades. It highlights the interconnected nature of modern supply chains and the ways in which disruptions can cascade across systems, with implications for policy, business and infrastructure planning.
The analysis provides an evidence base for future policy initiatives aimed at strengthening the UK’s preparedness for international supply-chain shocks and improving long-term resilience in an increasingly uncertain global environment.
Read the full Government Office for Science report: Global Supply Chains: A Foresight report on risk and resilience