Our extensive modification of the Earth's landscapes is exacerbating climate change and putting both human development and global biodiversity at risk. That’s a major theme of the newly released Special Report on Climate Change and Land, produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

This latest assessment confirms that food security and land-based sectors face mounting risks if business continues as usual, and calls for greater emphasis on land-management decisions in the global effort to address climate change. The report was approved by 195 national governments, but the question remains: will the international community mobilize the political will needed to tackle the imminent threats facing nature and people?

The IPCC estimates that more than 70 percent of Earth’s ice-free lands have been altered by human activity, with 25 percent in a state of degradation. The expansion of land-use sectors— particularly farming and forestry—has contributed to the rapid loss of natural ecosystems and biodiversity. Greenhouse gas emissions associated with the land-based food systems alone emit between 21 and 37 percent of total anthropogenic GHG emissions, and that will likely rise if populations, incomes and consumption patterns grow as expected.

These conditions pose a serious threat to human lives and livelihoods. The IPCC reports that rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns and more frequent extreme weather are already destabilizing the global food supply. The new report projects median cereal prices could increase by 7.6 percent by 2050, even as the nutritional quality of crops declines—leading to greater food insecurity, especially for already vulnerable populations.

But dire as these findings are, the last thing we need is panic that leads to paralysis—we need concern that leads to ambitious action. This report makes clear that our land-use practices can amplify or mitigate climate change, converting terrain into sources or sinks for carbon emissions. Here are some steps to help us change course, from business as usual to a more sustainable path.