Human-caused climate change results from rising atmospheric concentrations of heat-trapping greenhouse gases. Climate mitigation efforts aim to decrease these concentrations to limit future warming and its related consequences.

Protecting, restoring, and managing carbon-rich ecosystems sustainably can yield enormous mitigation benefits at relatively low costs. Public climate finance expansion as well as policies to foster an orderly transition away from fossil fuels are also of vital importance.

Adaptation

Adaptation involves taking measures to lessen the negative impacts of climate change, such as rising sea levels, more intense storms, and biodiversity loss. At the same time, adaptation means being prepared for its potential positive effects, such as extended growing seasons or increases in food yields in certain regions.

Mitigation refers to efforts taken to limit climate change by decreasing greenhouse gas emissions from sources (e.g. switching from fossil fuels to renewable energy) or by expanding sinks that remove them, like expanding forests. Mitigation should go hand-in-hand with adaptation efforts because increasing greenhouse gas concentrations diminishes their effectiveness and many adaptation options become less viable over time.

Mitigation

For people to minimize future climate change effects, the most effective strategies involve decreasing human-produced emissions of heat-trapping gases while expanding Earth’s carbon sinks, which remove such emissions from its atmosphere.

Emissions reduction measures include increasing energy efficiency, switching to renewable and other low-carbon energy sources, reducing methane from fossil fuel production and landfills, and sequestering carbon dioxide into permanent geological storage sites.

Saving open spaces near bodies of water can help to protect areas vulnerable to climate change-induced flooding and sea level rise from development pressures.

Countries around the globe have pledged their efforts toward lowering greenhouse gas emissions through adopting sustainable practices. Individuals can play their part by engaging in voluntary programs like the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment that calls upon 679 institutions to develop plans for net-neutral climate emissions by the year 2025. Research needs to be conducted into how people react to incentives or policies meant to promote energy use efficiency or product selection.

Policy

Policy is the means by which society chooses how best to reduce emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases and enhance sinks that capture them, thus mitigating future warming and its adverse impacts.

Policies may include carbon taxes, cap-and-trade systems, energy efficiency standards and regulations, product bans etc. They can also address an array of other issues including eliminating fossil fuel subsidies, transitioning away from HFCs towards climate-friendly alternatives and reducing methane and black carbon emissions.

State and regional action are essential in combatting climate change. Policymakers at these levels can lead by taking initiatives to build and test innovative solutions, deliver near-term emission reductions, and lay the groundwork for stronger national action.

An effective set of laws and regulations can ensure investment in low-carbon technologies will occur over time despite changing political administrations, providing a faster path towards climate goals while mitigating riskier investments like oil & gas or those in emission-heavy sectors.

Research

Research is necessary to reduce uncertainties in model-based projections of greenhouse gas emissions and their effectiveness and costs associated with policy measures, which will inform discussions at both global and national levels, including within the Paris Agreement’s Representative Concentration Pathways.

Climate change mitigation entails efforts by humans to limit human impact on Earth’s atmosphere, specifically by decreasing heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions and expanding natural “sinks” such as oceans and forests that absorb them. Such efforts must be swift, fair and adequate if we wish to limit catastrophic consequences associated with climate change.

Low-income countries face particular difficulty responding to rising emissions trends, making this goal even more significant for them. Reparative action must also take place, with wealthy nations that have profited from high emission activities taking a larger share in mitigation actions such as supporting nations to switch towards low carbon development pathways.