Among the many bleakest findings within the newest report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Local weather Change (IPCC), launched final week, is the conclusion that local weather resilient growth can be more and more out of attain in some areas if world temperatures improve above 2C. And this problem can be even tougher to beat with each subsequent incremental improve in warming.

A hotter world would compound the local weather injustice already enjoying out at present within the least developed and susceptible international locations of the World South. These international locations and communities have traditionally contributed the least to greenhouse fuel emissions, which have already pushed temperatures up by 1.1C, but they’re on the entrance line of local weather impacts.

A 2C improve would imply that main sectors like agriculture can be more and more unable to deal with excessive climate occasions, similar to droughts and floods, undermining long-term meals, vitamin and financial safety in lots of elements of the world. The implications might put 80 million folks throughout sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Central America vulnerable to starvation by 2050, thereby additionally rising the danger of displacement.

The stark IPCC warning ought to, subsequently, be an pressing invocation to speed up agricultural innovation on two counts.

Entrance-line international locations concurrently want extra and higher methods to adapt to new local weather realities to maintain meals on the desk and clear, sustainable options that restrict emissions and guarantee such adaptation stays doable. Each are crucial for conserving alive the potential for delivering local weather justice and have to be applied by way of context-specific insurance policies.

The brand new report was launched at a second of worldwide stocktaking each for local weather motion and meals methods. It’s as a lot a standing replace as it’s a warning for the long run. Local weather change is already affecting farmers worldwide with about half of the world’s inhabitants going through extreme water shortage for not less than among the 12 months, partly due to climatic components.

However it’s hitting these hardest who’ve emitted the least and who’re least outfitted to adapt – particularly, smallholder farmers within the World South. As probably the most climate-exposed sector, agriculture, particularly in growing international locations, urgently wants built-in options that may minimise environmental impacts, assist adaptation and scale back inequality.

But solely 1.7 per cent of local weather finance in 2020 supported the world’s lots of of thousands and thousands of smallholder farmers. If the worldwide neighborhood doesn’t ramp up local weather finance for meals methods to appropriate this imbalance, extra folks will go hungry.

The excellent news is that governments, growth donors and philanthropic foundations needn’t watch for breakthrough options to take a position on this sector. Many both exist already or are in growth.

Agricultural improvements supply alternatives to adapt to extremes similar to droughts, floods and heatwaves whereas additionally delivering as much as 30 p.c of the pressing emissions reductions wanted to restrict temperature rises to 1.5C, a threshold the world is more likely to attain throughout the subsequent decade.

For instance, scientists are testing climate-resilient forms of staple crops like rice that may each thrive in excessive circumstances and scale back agricultural emissions. Proof means that direct seeded rice requires as much as a 3rd much less water and emits as much as 90 p.c much less methane, all whereas offering the identical yields.

Equally, analysis has discovered that an improved number of grass can improve soil carbon storage whereas decreasing nitrous oxide emissions to offset the local weather affect of livestock. Koronivia grass, native to Africa, can even develop on marginal land, that means farmers could make use of degraded soils to take care of livestock manufacturing even the place meals crops can’t develop.

And applied sciences similar to solar-powered irrigation pumps that permit farmers to promote surplus photo voltaic vitality again to the grid can substitute high-emitting diesel pumps whereas disincentivising the overconsumption of groundwater. An unlimited and rising suite of agricultural improvements exists to provide growing international locations the most effective probability of preserving meals safety within the face of crippling local weather extremes.

Whereas such technological improvements are an necessary a part of the answer, the IPCC report additionally emphasises the significance of inclusive establishments and insurance policies to make sure probably the most impacted communities have a voice in choices that have an effect on their lives. Applied sciences deployed with out enough understanding of native contexts and constraints can result in counterproductive outcomes.

The query now could be how you can scale up these improvements rapidly sufficient to resist the local weather extremes which can be already inevitable whereas holding even worse outcomes at bay by decreasing emissions world wide.

With out fast, deep and sustained mitigation by the highest-emitting economies, adaptation alone won’t suffice.

The newest IPCC report ought to be the start line for pressing, complete motion at a worldwide degree. Success in climate-proofing meals methods wouldn’t solely place all of humanity to deal with the impacts of rising temperatures however would additionally create the circumstances for higher equality, delivering local weather justice by way of local weather resilience.

The views expressed on this article are the writer’s personal and don’t essentially mirror Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.