Climate change significantly impacts rural areas, affecting both their ecosystems and the livelihoods of residents. Fortunately, there are numerous solutions to promote climate-resilient and low-emission rural landscapes, ensuring food security within planetary boundaries. But how can we realize climate-sensitive rural development, and how does it contribute to transforming our agricultural and food systems? This factsheet explores these interconnections, presents strategic solutions, and illustrates them with practical examples. It underlines that climate-sensitive rural development should advocate for systemic approaches that reduce risks for vulnerable groups and take into account structural factors within the political framework, highlighting that such methods greatly aid in the transformation of agricultural and food systems.