BaCCC/Module 6/Lesson 1/Part 2
Contents
Adaptation versus mitigation: What is the difference?
| “ | We can see the kinds of investments that we have to make, and it’s development, adaptation, and mitigation wrapped up together. | ” |
| —Lord Nicholas Stern | ||
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If you have trouble accessing the video, a summary is available here.
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You now recognise that in the climate change fight, we need both mitigation and adaptation. In this lesson, you will learn to differentiate between mitigation strategies and adaptation strategies and also see how some of them overlap because they lower greenhouse gas emissions while at the same time building resilience to climate change impacts.
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1. Mitigation – halting global warming and reducing the climate change it causes – involves reducing the flow of heat-trapping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, either by reducing sources of these gases (e.g., the burning of fossil fuels for electricity, heat or transport) or enhancing the “sinks” that accumulate and store these gases (such as the oceans, forests and soil). 2. Adaptation – addressing the impacts of climate change and adapting to life in a changing climate – involves adjusting to actual or expected future climate. The goal is to reduce our risks from the harmful effects of climate change by building our resilience (the ability to bounce back) so that we are less vulnerable. — Adapted from NASA (2023) |
The two main pillars of the climate change convention [UNFCCC] are adaptation and mitigation. And it is the responsibility of this generation, all of us alive right now, to mitigate enough — that means to bring greenhouse gas emissions down enough — to allow that adaptation, in particular in the most vulnerable communities, to be actually possible and effective. — Christiana Figueres, former Executive Secretary, UNFCCC
Below is a metaphor that helps us grasp both the difference between mitigation and adaptation and, importantly, the need for both at once. Indeed, as community geographer Susanne Moser (of the United States) explains, “[s]trict greenhouse gas mitigation efforts are not enough to minimize and manage the risks from climate change. Adaptation planning must go forward to address the climate change impacts that are now unavoidable.”
| “ | Imagine your boat has sprung a leak. To keep from sinking you must address the source of the problem. That means plugging the hole. But what about all the water already rushing in? To stay dry, you grab a bucket and start bailing. To stay afloat and prevent damage to your boat, you need to address both issues simultaneously. | ” |
| —Behsudi, 2021 | ||
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In this video, a chart comparing adaptation and mitigation says, “Adaptation takes advantage of beneficial consequences [of climate change] while reducing negative consequences of climate change.”
It has long been believed that some places in the world would benefit from current climate change. It is true, for example, that the global temperature increase has extended the growing season for farmers in many parts of the world. But the consequence of a warmer atmosphere is an energised atmosphere, leading to an increase in the frequency, duration and/or intensity of heatwaves, floods, droughts, wildfires, huge storms and pest infestations. Because of these extreme events, some countries are seeing recent increases in their crop productivity start to slow down, while drought-prone countries and regions are experiencing crop failures.
As another example, Canadians, who are crazy for ice hockey and snow skiing, thought that warmer winters would be nice – until they discovered that warmer winters mean less ice for hockey and less snow for skiing.
Read the following news report:
Canada: World’s largest skating rink to remain closed due to lack of ice!
For the first time in five decades, the renowned Rideau Canal Skateway in Ottawa, Canada, which is also the world’s largest outdoor rink, will not open due to a lack of ice. A UNESCO World Heritage site, the skateway stretches as far as 7.8 kilometres long, and is immensely popular among both locals and tourists. However, in recent years, Ottawa has been experiencing warmer winters. This year, it faced the third-warmest winter in history, the reason why there is not enough stable, solid ice to support ice skating. (Times of India, 2023)
Note that even so-called developed nations are experiencing extreme weather events, such as unseasonal and deadly heatwaves (made worse by the heat island effect in cities dense with concrete buildings and asphalt roadways), floods that destroy infrastructure, droughts that are drying the soil and killing crops, wildfires that burn huge areas of forest, etc.
Mitigation and adaptation solutions can overlap. In other words, the same strategy can both reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase the resilience of people or ecosystems to current or future climate change impacts.
“The more we reduce emissions right now, the easier it will be to adapt to the changes we can no longer avoid.” — Local Government Climate Change Support Programme, South Africa
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What is the strategy the narrator mentions that can have “both mitigation and adaptation benefits”? See the Venn diagram below.
| Impact of climate change | Adaptation strategy | Mitigation strategy | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Severe storms that damage the electrical grid, causing power outages. | Install solar panels on the roof of your house or a community building (with battery storage) to provide power during blackouts. | Install solar panels to reduce or eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from the use of fossil fuels to generate power. |
| 2 | |||
| 3 |
Next, let’s have a look at adaptation strategies you can implement at home or suggest for your community.
