Climate change mitigation refers to efforts aimed at reducing or preventing greenhouse gas emissions or increasing carbon sinks, with an eye toward sustainable transformations across society – such as making the switch to renewable energy, improving energy efficiency and adopting regenerative agriculture practices.

UNDP provides countries on their mitigation journey with guidance toward sustainable, low-carbon development that is climate-resilient. This includes helping them create and implement laws, policies, standards and regulations.

Reducing emissions

One of the key ways to combat climate change is through emissions reductions. This may involve investing in renewable energy sources, switching from fossil fuels to electric vehicles and making homes more energy-efficient.

Fossil fuels contribute to global warming by emitting carbon dioxide and producing air pollution which damages human health, for instance by heat exposure from burning fossil fuels which may result in respiratory illnesses; their combustion also creates sulfur oxides which produce ozone pollution which harms lung health.

Reduced emissions of short-lived climate pollutants such as black carbon, methane and hydrofluorocarbons can slow global temperature rise while complementing efforts to cut carbon dioxide emissions. It can also prevent millions of premature deaths each year while improving food security by protecting staple crop yields, protecting biodiversity and ecosystem services, as well as helping avoid dangerous climate tipping points that threaten irreversibility.

Policy tools designed to promote emission reduction include encouraging renewable energy use, carbon pricing and setting emission caps on key sectors like transportation and buildings. Other measures taken by policy makers can help protect forests that act as carbon sinks while simultaneously supporting water cycles and biodiversity protection.

Adaptation

Modern humans are driving climate change faster than ever before. Burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas generates greenhouse gas emissions that act like a blanket to trap solar radiation and warm our planet.

Warmer temperatures alter weather patterns and pose numerous threats to wildlife, from wildfires that destroy habitat to heat waves that stress coral reefs and kill them off. They also contribute to flooding, drought and other weather-related disasters which leave millions living in poverty.

WWF works with countries to help them adapt to these changes, providing guidance towards sustainable and low-carbon development pathways. This includes mitigating climate risks through early warning systems, supporting renewable energy initiatives and deforestation reduction policies, protecting species by stopping poaching or overfishing and conserving habitats; all actions which will enable nature to survive the impacts of climate change.

Restoring ecosystems

Ecosystems – whether forests, wetlands, lakes, oceans, grasslands, savannahs and grazing land – are essential to human survival. From providing us food to shelter to supporting resilience against climate impacts; from sequestering carbon to sequestering greenhouse gases; these ecosystems play a crucial role.

Restoring ecosystems provides an effective, cost-efficient natural solution to address climate change. Activities like reforestation, wetland restoration and grassland preservation have proven their ability to drastically decrease emissions while building climate resilience.

Not always possible or practical to restore an ecosystem to its original state, pressures that cause degradation can still be mitigated or stopped; such as keeping deer out of forests to allow trees to flourish or people harvesting mangroves and taking peat from wetlands as these act as natural carbon sinks that help them regenerate. By 2030, restoration of 350 million hectares of degraded landscapes could absorb 13 to 26 gigatons of CO2, helping slow climate change’s effects and mitigate its consequences.

Sustainable development

Climate change mitigation must be accomplished through sustainable development. This entails redesigning economic models to lower carbon emissions and expand carbon sinks while meeting people’s social, environmental and economic needs simultaneously.

Transitioning to renewable energy sources, improving resource efficiency and adopting regenerative agricultural practices. Reducing plastic waste and reconsidering how we use our vehicles, ships, planes and buildings.

The process should be equitable and fair, taking into account historical responsibilities, adaption capabilities and community needs in a dignified manner. Furthermore, it must address any underlying inequalities which make certain communities more susceptible to climate impacts than others.

Mitigation requires everyone’s participation. Individuals can reduce their carbon footprint by making lifestyle changes, advocating for action, and supporting local community projects. Governments and businesses can assist by investing in greener investments, setting climate targets, investing in clean technologies, as well as encouraging a just transition with zero-carbon resilient systems by building sustainability into their business models.