Around two-thirds of 'natural' methane emissions and one quarter of total emissions globally originate from wetlands and paddy fields. Rice being an important staple foods, a major increase in it's production will be indispensable in order to feed the burgeoning global population. This in turn is bound to increase greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions particularly methane, unless new mitigation strategies are developed and applied. In this study, we explore the potential for developing new rice based cropping system integrated with novel strategies to mitigate GHG emissions. We conducted a number of mesocosm experiments at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH, Zurich), as well as in the paddy fields in India to establish the proof of concept. We demonstrate that co-cultivation of rice together with other aquatic plant species results in lower emissions of methane. There are a number of aquatic plant species, which exist naturally in rice producing regions and are already part of human consumption in local cultures. These plant species possess the potential to offer GHG mitigation solutions at regional level, with a significant global impact and may eventually form a significant part of rice based cropping systems. Being economically useful, co-cultivation of rice with these plant species would be sustainable both ecologically as well as economically. Potential of this novel strategy for adaptation to climate change would be discussed in the light of evidence obtained from mesocosm and field experiments.