diff --git a/docs/changelog.md b/docs/changelog.md
index 9f43c773..0eb87f9a 100644
--- a/docs/changelog.md
+++ b/docs/changelog.md
@@ -10,6 +10,9 @@ Requires libvips v8.10.5
 
 * Remove experimental status from `heif` output, defaults are now AVIF-centric.
 
+* Ensure all platforms use fontconfig for font rendering.
+  [#2399](https://github.com/lovell/sharp/issues/2399)
+
 ## v0.26 - *zoom*
 
 Requires libvips v8.10.0
diff --git a/src/sharp.cc b/src/sharp.cc
index 04c8a577..0f9c4676 100644
--- a/src/sharp.cc
+++ b/src/sharp.cc
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
 
 static void* sharp_vips_init(void*) {
   g_setenv("VIPS_MIN_STACK_SIZE", "2m", FALSE);
+  g_setenv("PANGOCAIRO_BACKEND", "fontconfig", FALSE);
   vips_init("sharp");
   return nullptr;
 }