The world must overhaul how it feeds itself and manages Earth's forests, pasture and resources in order to avoid food insecurity and the worst impacts of climate change, a landmark UN assessment said Thursday.&nbsp;

The Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change warned that failure to act rapidly on reducing land degradation, food waste and agriculture's carbon footprint could challenge food systems and undermine efforts to head off disastrous global warming.&nbsp;

The Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change on Thursday delivered the most comprehensive scientific overview yet of the links between the land we live off and global warming.

The report was compiled by more than 100 climate and land use scientists, drawing on thousands of data sets.

It depicts a world ravaged by humankind's insatiable appetite for food and natural resources.

Human activity is now imprinted on more than 70 per cent of all ice-free land on Earth; agriculture uses 70 per cent of the planet's freshwater.

At the same time, human activity is expanding the world's deserts, with the area of dryland experiencing drought increasing around 1 per cent each year.

Land, with its soil, vegetation and ability to reflect much of the Sun's heat, sucked up as much as 29 per cent of mankind's CO2 emissions in the decade to 2016.

But as temperatures rise across the globe, there are fears that absorption rate will slow.&nbsp;

The land is also a source of greenhouse gases, with agriculture, forestry and other activities accounting for 23 per cent of total net man-made emissions.

1.5C already? 

The IPCC sprung to global attention in 2018 with its assessment on how to limit global warming to 1.5C (2.6 Fahrenheit), as aimed for in the Paris climate deal.&nbsp;

It spelt out the need for drastic greenhouse gas emissions cuts achieved partly by a near-immediate fall in fossil fuel consumption.&nbsp;

Earth's surface has already heated 1C since pre-industrial times, but temperatures on land rise faster than in the ocean.&nbsp;

Thursday's report suggested that compared with the pre-industrial average, land temperatures have already risen 1.53C.

It highlighted an increased risk of crop vulnerability, land degradation and extreme weather events exacerbated by climate change, with women, children and the elderly at most immediate risk.

It also warned that the risk of food insecurity would go from "high" under 1.5C of warming, to "very high" under 2C.

Overweight, underfed

Between 25-30 per cent of all food produced is currently lost or wasted.&nbsp;

This waste comes amid an epoch of vastly heightened meat and fat consumption in wealthy nations, and indeed global per capita food calories have increased around one third since 1961.&nbsp;

Two billion adults are classified as overweight or obese, while at least 820 million people go to bed hungry every night.

Trade-offs

The report looks at ways that humanity can use land to combat climate change. It stresses the value of maintaining and even restoring forests to suck carbon from the atmosphere.

In addition, it runs the rule over bioenergy schemes, including as yet untested systems that use biomass to sequester greenhouse gases, and later get burned for energy as an alternative to fossil fuels.&nbsp;

But the area of land needed to keep to a 1.5-C limit varies in projections depending on global consumption patterns in the decades to come.&nbsp;

Even under a low-consumption trajectory, where populations rise slower than anticipated in a less resource-intensive world, a "high risk" of food insecurity occurs in the IPCC models at warming between 2.5-3.5C.&nbsp;

For a world on its current consumption path, that happens at just 1.3C.&nbsp;

The report warns that land given over to bioenergy at the scale required to scrub out global missions, could "increase risks for desertification, land degradation, food security and sustainable development".

Emissions reductions

The land use assessment repeats the 1.5C report warning that man-made greenhouse gas emissions need to start falling immediately in order to avoid "irreversible loss in land ecosystem functions and services required for food, health, habitable settlements and production".&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

The world must overhaul how it feeds itself and manages Earth's forests, pasture and resources in order to avoid food insecurity and the worst impacts of climate change, a landmark UN assessment said Thursday.

The world must overhaul how it feeds itself and manages Earth's forests, pasture and resources in order to avoid food insecurity and the worst impacts of climate change, a landmark UN assessment said Thursday. The Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change warned that failure to act rapidly on reducing land degradation, food waste and agriculture's carbon footprint could challenge food systems and undermine efforts to head off disastrous global warming. The Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change on Thursday delivered the most comprehensive scientific overview yet of the links between the land we live off and global warming. The report was compiled by more than 100 climate and land use scientists, drawing on thousands of data sets. It depicts a world ravaged by humankind's insatiable appetite for food and natural resources. Human activity is now imprinted on more than 70 per cent of all ice-free land on Earth; agriculture uses 70 per cent of the planet's freshwater. At the same time, human activity is expanding the world's deserts, with the area of dryland experiencing drought increasing around 1 per cent each year. Land, with its soil, vegetation and ability to reflect much of the Sun's heat, sucked up as much as 29 per cent of mankind's CO2 emissions in the decade to 2016. But as temperatures rise across the globe, there are fears that absorption rate will slow. The land is also a source of greenhouse gases, with agriculture, forestry and other activities accounting for 23 per cent of total net man-made emissions. 1.5C already? The IPCC sprung to global attention in 2018 with its assessment on how to limit global warming to 1.5C (2.6 Fahrenheit), as aimed for in the Paris climate deal. It spelt out the need for drastic greenhouse gas emissions cuts achieved partly by a near-immediate fall in fossil fuel consumption. Earth's surface has already heated 1C since pre-industrial times, but temperatures on land rise faster than in the ocean. Thursday's report suggested that compared with the pre-industrial average, land temperatures have already risen 1.53C. It highlighted an increased risk of crop vulnerability, land degradation and extreme weather events exacerbated by climate change, with women, children and the elderly at most immediate risk. It also warned that the risk of food insecurity would go from "high" under 1.5C of warming, to "very high" under 2C. Overweight, underfed Between 25-30 per cent of all food produced is currently lost or wasted. This waste comes amid an epoch of vastly heightened meat and fat consumption in wealthy nations, and indeed global per capita food calories have increased around one third since 1961. Two billion adults are classified as overweight or obese, while at least 820 million people go to bed hungry every night. Trade-offs The report looks at ways that humanity can use land to combat climate change. It stresses the value of maintaining and even restoring forests to suck carbon from the atmosphere. In addition, it runs the rule over bioenergy schemes, including as yet untested systems that use biomass to sequester greenhouse gases, and later get burned for energy as an alternative to fossil fuels. But the area of land needed to keep to a 1.5-C limit varies in projections depending on global consumption patterns in the decades to come. Even under a low-consumption trajectory, where populations rise slower than anticipated in a less resource-intensive world, a "high risk" of food insecurity occurs in the IPCC models at warming between 2.5-3.5C. For a world on its current consumption path, that happens at just 1.3C. The report warns that land given over to bioenergy at the scale required to scrub out global missions, could "increase risks for desertification, land degradation, food security and sustainable development". Emissions reductions The land use assessment repeats the 1.5C report warning that man-made greenhouse gas emissions need to start falling immediately in order to avoid "irreversible loss in land ecosystem functions and services required for food, health, habitable settlements and production".

In landmark assessment, UN body suggests ways to avoid food insecurity, worst impacts of climate change

Humanity's next test: Feeding 10 billion without ruining Earth

intergovernmental-panel-for-climate-change

Intergovernmental Panel For Climate Change, News on Intergovernmental Panel For Climate Change, stories on Intergovernmental Panel For Climate Change, articles on Intergovernmental Panel For Climate Change, Intergovernmental Panel For Climate Change stories at Wion, Intergovernmental Panel For Climate Change news, Intergovernmental Panel For Climate Change latest news

intergovernmental panel-for-climate-change

In landmark assessment, UN body suggests ways to avoid food insecurity, worst impacts of climate change

Humanity's next test: Feeding 10 billion without ruining Earth