This is not an imaginary future dystopia. It’s a scientific projection of Australia under 3°C of global warming – a future we must both strenuously try to avoid, but also prepare for.
To increase food production, climate challenges will need to be overcome.
Many temperate crops require winter chilling to initiate flowering or fruit ripening, and orchards may need to shift to colder areas.
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New Zealand is a net exporter of many fruit and vegetables. While climate-change induced food shortages are not an imminent risk, some crops may be affected by rising temperatures and extreme weather.
Working together, people and technology companies can make a lot of progress.
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Amazon, Facebook and Google have lofty goals for their effects on global society. But people around the world are still waiting for the positive results. Here’s what the tech giants could do.
The Amazon Basin creates the rain that nourishes farmland across Brazil, one of the world’s major breadbaskets.
Reuters/Bruno Kelly
Brazil’s president-elect wants to roll back environmental laws, saying they hurt rural growth. But preventing Amazonian deforestation has actually made farmland more productive.
The fertile, mountainous terrain of Colombia’s coffee-producing central region is vulnerable to climate change impacts such as stronger storms and hotter temperatures.
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Colombia’s coffee industry is at risk due to unpredictable seasons, floods, landslides, droughts and pests. Farmers say they want to learn to adapt to these environmental changes but don’t know how.
A man walks through a greenhouse in October 2017 at a learning centre in Uganda where sustainable agriculture techniques, such as drought-resistant crops and tree planting, are taught.
(AP Photo/Adelle Kalakouti)
The Paris climate agreement aims to limit global warming to 2C above pre-industrial levels. We need to curb greenhouse gas emissions, but we can also make gains with carbon farming.
Maize can be particularly sensitive to agricultural and climate conditions.
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As Brazil struggles through a political and economic crisis, its soybean farmers are thriving. Their growing clout could trigger new deforestation and undercut the nation’s climate change pledges.
In semi-arid areas, climate information that is tailored to farmers’ needs can reduce their vulnerability to climate change.
Lucia Scodanibbio
Building on local experience and having access to current and expected climate trends is crucial to adapting to climate change for farmers in semi-arid regions.
South Australia’s McLaren Vale is leading the way in adapting to climate change, but the future for vineyards is still uncertain.
AAP Image/Ben Macmahon
The wine industry is sensitive to climate change, but grape growers also have the funding and knowledge to put themselves at the forefront of climate adaptation. Other farmers should watch with interest.
Associate Professor, Department of Environmental and Geographical Science and African Climate and Development Initiative Research Chair, University of Cape Town