The climate crisis is increasingly distressing. Fortunately, there are many things we can do to ensure our future is as prosperous as possible. These actions fall into one of two broad categories: climate change adaptation and climate change mitigation. These terms go hand-in-hand while navigating through the climate crisis, but they mean very different things.
Climate change mitigation means avoiding and reducing emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere to prevent the planet from warming to more extreme temperatures.
Climate change adaptation means altering our behavior, systems, and ways of life to protect our families, our economies, and the environment in which we live from the impacts of climate change. The more we reduce emissions right now, the easier it will be to adapt to the changes we can no longer avoid.
Mitigation actions will take decades to affect rising temperatures, so we must adapt now to the change that is already upon us — and will continue to affect us in the foreseeable future.
Climate Change Mitigation
The mitigation piece of the puzzle is easy to explain, but difficult to accomplish.
We must transition from powering our world with fossil fuels to using clean, renewable energy. And we need to stop deforestation and restore our natural habitats until we reach net-zero carbon emissions. In practice, meaning that the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere is balanced with the capture and storage of those gases in places like tree roots.
Much like investing in a retirement fund, the sooner we act to mitigate the impacts of climate change, the better off we’ll be in the future.
So far, the world has been slow to act, but momentum is shifting. For example, by providing free sustainability education, EcoCation is one of many organizations, cities, and businesses committed to delivering on the promise of the Paris Climate Agreement to reduce emissions to levels required to keep global warming in check.
These are some measures for mitigating to climate change:
- Improving energy efficiency and opting for renewable energy over fossil fuels.
- Promoting public transport and sustainable mobility.
- Promoting the circular economy, food sustainability, responsible consumption.
- Taxing the use of fossil fuels.
Climate Change Adaptation
If you grew up in Florida and suddenly relocated to North Dakota, you wouldn’t survive for long if you didn’t make a few adjustments to your lifestyle. To start, you would need warmer clothes and to learn how to drive in icy conditions. In other words, you would have to adapt to a new climate.
In a warming world, however, you don’t have to move somewhere far away to experience a different climate. This is because a new climate is coming to you.
Climate change affects where we can grow food, how much water we have, and where we can build our homes.
And we’ll face new challenges: For example, firefighters will need to battle longer and more intense forest fire seasons. Our public health officials may need to manage diseases that are not currently a problem. Finally, city planners will need to encourage development away from areas we like to live, such as on coastlines and riverfronts.
Adaptation solutions, which are most of the time nature-based, vary from place to place, are difficult to predict, and involve many trade-offs.
The first step to adapting to climate change is understanding local risks and developing plans to manage them.
The next step is taking action. Putting systems in place to respond to impacts we are experiencing today as we prepare for an uncertain tomorrow.
These actions can include diversifying crops that can tolerate warmer and drier or wetter conditions. They can also include ensuring infrastructure can withstand more extreme weather, or helping communities reduce their risk from sea level rise and increased floods. Finally, making sure we manage our food, water, and other natural resources wisely in the context of a changing climate is of utmost important.
These are some measures for adapting to climate change:
- Erecting buildings and infrastructure that is safer and more sustainable.
- Replanting forests and restoring damaged ecosystems.
- Diversifying crops so that they are better able to adapt to changing climates.
- Developing innovative solutions to prevent and manage natural catastrophes.
- Developing action plans for climate emergencies.
Mitigation or Adaptation? What is more important?
Climate change adaptation and mitigation are both equally important and time-sensitive and we need to do both. This is why strategies that are contributing to both, mitigation as well as adaptation are so important.
You can help mitigate climate change and support human environment interaction by reducing emissions in your own life, letting your representatives know you support climate-smart policies, and supporting businesses and organizations embracing renewable energy.
Climate change is a serious problem! Our planet can only continue to thrive if we all work together to both avoid the worst impacts and adapt to our changing world.
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