Climate change mitigation refers to strategies designed to lower greenhouse gas emissions and build resilience against climate impacts, from switching to a plant-based diet and upgrading home insulation to adopting plant-based farming techniques.
At 1.5 degrees C, global warming must be limited in order to avoid catastrophic results such as extreme weather events, sea level rise, and biodiversity loss. We must act now!
Renewable energy
Renewable energy has emerged as the fastest-growing source of electricity, boasting zero carbon emissions and few air pollutants compared to fossil fuels, while also becoming more cost-effective to customers. When combined with other mitigation strategies such as improved building design, energy efficiency improvements, transmission systems and transportation networks, renewables can significantly lower energy consumption while mitigating climate change impacts.
Mitigation efforts involve both reducing heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions and strengthening carbon sinks to remove them from the atmosphere. This may involve transitioning quickly towards clean energy sources like wind, solar, geothermal and hydro power; improving energy efficiency of buildings, homes, vehicles; decreasing methane pollution from oil and gas development projects; as well as supporting regenerative agricultural practices.
Switching from fossil fuels to clean energy is the fastest way to lower global warming emissions and bring economic, health, and environmental advantages for everyone globally – as well as creating jobs and businesses in this field.
Energy efficiency
Conservation and efficiency measures are increasingly becoming necessary as renewable energy replaces fossil fuels, to meet climate goals. By decreasing demand for energy and mitigating its effects on emissions and strain on the grid, conservation and efficiency efforts can limit growth in emissions while alleviating strain on grid systems – something which benefits households, businesses, and communities who experience industrial air pollution directly.
Energy efficiency measures offer the least expensive way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy costs across an economy or household, both individually and collectively. They can be implemented almost anywhere within an economy: buildings, transportation, industry or energy generation.
Energy efficiency refers to technologies and practices that enable us to perform similar services with less energy use, for instance by switching incandescent light bulbs with LEDs or insulating homes – without compromising services such as lighting or heating. Energy efficiency should not be confused with energy conservation which refers to using less of an item like turning down your thermostat during winter – both are vital measures against climate change while saving money on energy bills.
Energy storage
Energy storage allows renewables to be utilized more reliably and provide backup power during outages, serving as backup power during blackouts. By storing electricity when it’s abundant (such as during a heat wave), and then releasing it when demand rises – thus reducing emissions while making the grid more flexible while alleviating transmission congestion and optimizing its efficiency.
Energy storage can reduce costs for utilities while saving households and businesses money by lowering energy bills. Furthermore, using storage can provide back-up power during outages to protect from costly damages caused by outages as well as increase grid reliability.
Energy storage is an essential element of our efforts to combat climate change. But to transition successfully towards clean and reliable power will require more than simply this technology alone: We must reduce greenhouse gas emissions, build resilient communities and upgrade infrastructure against floods, droughts and heat waves as well as ensure our investments in energy storage are made with reliable partners so they are available when the time comes.
Carbon dioxide removal
Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is an integral component of any strategy to reach net zero emissions and limit global warming below 2 degrees Celsius. CDR involves steep emissions reductions as well as the strengthening of natural carbon sinks such as forests, wetlands, and oceans; in addition to engineered solutions like reforestation, agroforestry, bioenergy with carbon capture storage capabilities, direct air capture or marine carbon removal.
CDR efforts in the past have focused on carbon capture and storage (CCS), which involves extracting CO2 from point sources like power plants and storing it underground for future use; however, its climate benefits depend upon how long its stored. If utilized for products like concrete, plastics or fuels instead, its impact could return within one to ten years, lessening its climate benefits.
Research into carbon removal technology is on the rise. New initiatives aim to use new methods to speed up its deployment while increasing effectiveness, with researchers exploring ways carbon dioxide removal (CDR) approaches work in tandem with emission reduction goals, their cost, and deployment timeframe.