What is climate change mitigation?
This refers to actions taken to reduce or prevent the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere to limit the extent of climate change and its impacts.
What are the overall key mitigation strategies?
1. Renewable energy transition
The world must transition away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy sources (such as solar, wind and geothermal).
2. Increasing energy efficiency
Improving energy efficiency in buildings, transportation, and industry can significantly reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
3. Land management
Practising sustainable farming practices (such as crop rotation, reduced tillage and organic fertilisers) and utilising peatlands can absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
4. Supporting research and development
Researching and developing new technologies can provide us with innovations that can work around current limitations.
What are the key government mitigation strategies?
Governments can set ambitious targets, which can include regulations on emissions, incentives for renewable energy and taxes on carbon emissions. They can invest in development and deployment of renewable energy and encourage energy efficiency via building regulations. Governments can also provide climate financial support to developing countries.
What are the key corporate mitigation strategies?
Businesses can improve energy efficiency, transition to renewable energy sources, reducing waste and implementing sustainable transportation practices. They can adopt science-based targets and use their influence to advocate for climate-friendly policies. Businesses can also work with their suppliers to implement sustainable practices across their supply chain and undertake their own climate-related risk assessments.
What are the key individual mitigation strategies?
The biggest impact individuals can make is by reducing their transportation emissions by walking, cycling, taking public transportation, fewer flights or driving an electric vehicle. Another significant change that individuals can make is to switch to use renewable energy sources such as solar or wind power or refurbishing to improve energy efficiency.