A recent scientific paper showed that climate breakdown is drastically increasing the chances of simultaneous crop losses in the world's poorest nations. The effects of this could be devastating.

We face an epochal, unthinkable prospect: of perhaps the two greatest existential threats – environmental breakdown and food system failure – converging, as one triggers the other.

So why isn’t this all over the front pages? Why, when governments know we’re facing existential risk, do they fail to act?

Looking back on previous human calamities, all of which will be dwarfed by this, you find yourself repeatedly asking “why didn’t they … ?” The answer is power: the power of a few to countermand the interests of humanity. It always has been, but the stakes are now higher than ever.

At the Guardian, we make a point of maintaining focus on the climate crisis. We have a large, global team of writers whose sole focus is this subject, and have recently appointed an extreme weather reporter and a European environment correspondent as well. We can only do this thanks to support from readers.

If you can, support journalism which puts the planet first.