Climate Change Mitigation Strategies involve decreasing greenhouse gases entering Earth’s atmosphere by limiting emissions or expanding natural carbon sinks such as forests. Local efforts have already started taking shape: from Indonesian communities using reduced-impact logging techniques to Brazilian farmers cultivating crops which absorb CO2.
Natural climate solutions may account for up to 37% of the mitigation needed between now and 2030 to keep global temperatures from exceeding two degrees Celsius.
Invest in renewable energy
To address the climate crisis, it’s crucial that we attack it from both directions – mitigation and adaptation. Mitigation entails cutting back emissions of greenhouse gases while adaptation refers to planning for effects already occurring.
Renewable energy should be at the core of both these strategies to address climate change. Solar and wind power, biomass, geothermal, hydropower and tidal power all represent sources of renewable energy that do not pollute and can provide reliable alternatives to fossil fuels; furthermore they produce significantly fewer greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide emissions than traditional energy sources making them integral elements in any mitigation strategy.
Renewables account for less than 4% of energy use in the US, yet their contribution must increase substantially to make an impactful statement against climate change. By investing in renewable energy solutions, investors will help lower energy costs and demand for fossil fuels while creating a greener planet.
Renewable energy investment offers many financial advantages for investors, such as stable income streams and tax incentives. Furthermore, projects typically feature long operational lifetimes that are less reliant on volatile commodity prices. Furthermore, renewables have a positive effect on local communities and ecosystems by reducing air pollution, protecting habitat from destruction, and supporting biodiversity.
As our global economy expands, so too does our need for energy. To sustain economic expansion without overheating our planet, renewable sources must become more plentiful – this is why it’s vital that we support projects and companies committed to reducing their carbon footprints.
Renewable investments are also an excellent way to promote job creation and economic expansion. Every dollar spent on renewables generates three times more jobs than one spent on fossil fuels – this indicates the importance of green technology as part of our future economy.
As global citizens, it is our collective duty to fight climate change and preserve the environment for future generations. The only effective way of doing so is through supporting new technologies and renewable energies as well as changing management practices and consumer behavior – this may involve building high-tech subway systems or encouraging more people to ride bicycles instead of cars.
Reduce your carbon footprint
Carbon footprints measure how much greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases you produce throughout your everyday activities. By decreasing how much of these harmful emissions reach our atmosphere, you can help mitigate climate change.
Your emissions can be reduced by switching to renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power, driving an electric car or using your bike as transportation, and by decreasing your energy use in your home. But for maximum impact, try decreasing energy demand altogether by transitioning away from fossil fuels altogether.
Mitigation efforts, unlike adaptation strategies, aim at curbing greenhouse gas emissions. To reach our goal of stopping or slowing their rise simultaneously with adaptation strategies. In order to do this, action must be taken both mitigating and adapting.
First step should be limiting global temperature increases to 2degC or below; secondly is strengthening natural “sinks” that absorb and store greenhouse gas emissions such as oceans, forests and soil.
Reducing emissions through renewable energy use and efficiency measures, in conjunction with investing in negative emission technologies, is one of the most cost-effective ways of combatting climate change. But to meet Paris Agreement targets we must do even more – accelerate and scale up these actions while investing in negative emission technologies.
Climate change threatens all facets of our lives – agriculture, health care, human and animal habitat, water sources, biodiversity and economy are all at risk as a result of its adverse impact. Therefore, immediate action are required.
Mitigation strategies may include everything from installing new technologies and renewable energies, upgrading old equipment or changing management practices and consumer behavior to setting new energy efficiency standards and investing in green infrastructure projects at a regional or national level.
Well, the good news is that there are numerous ways you can reduce your personal emissions, such as eating low on the food chain, limiting single-use plastics and supporting ethical fashion brands, recycling, investing in climate charities and joining protests to make systemic change; join protests or sign petitions with politicians in your region, donate to effective charities and vote responsibly. But for maximum impact, fight systemic change by joining protests, signing petitions or participating in systemic campaigns: protest marches or petition drives may make an even greater difference – join protests or signing petitions, joining protest marches or petitioning them into political office; join protest marches or sign petitions and fighting systemic change battlegrounds by joining protest protests, sign petitions with politicians directly or donating directly – you could make an even bigger contribution by taking part.
Reuse carbon
Use less energy, drive fewer cars, reduce waste and buy less new stuff to lower your carbon footprint. Reusing doors and furniture keeps them out of landfills where they would produce methane gas which is 23 times more potent than carbon dioxide; recycling food scraps into compost also helps keep organic waste out of the atmosphere.
One radical way of reducing carbon emissions is known as Carbon Dioxide Capture and Utilization (CCU). Scientists have developed several technologies that enable us to capture CO2 directly from the air and use it as a replacement fuel in energy and industrial processes.
These technologies are still in their infancy and require significant research and development before being scaled up for widespread usage, yet could play an invaluable role in keeping global temperature rises below levels that lead to catastrophic effects.
One of the most promising technologies is redirecting CO2 from power plants and oil refineries into a chamber where it is separated from water and absorbed by solvent. Once heated up, this carbon dioxide can then be released for reuse; this process is known as carbon capture and reuse.
Reusing natural materials is another effective way of recycling carbon, with steel, glass and concrete reuse helping cut building carbon footprints by up to 80%. Furthermore, this helps reduce CO2 emissions into the atmosphere while saving money and eliminating mining and manufacturing requirements.
Forestry is another powerful way to reduce carbon emissions. A healthy ecosystem absorbs and stores CO2, while at the same time serving to prevent flooding, drought and extreme weather events. Reforestation efforts that include native species reintroduction, reduced deforestation and planting quick-growing trees are among the many mitigation strategies employed by forests as part of this type of mitigation strategy.
Reduce waste
Each year, humans produce over 2 billion tons of waste. A third of that waste ends up polluting our environment by clogging waterways and poisoning soil. Proper disposal is crucial to our wellbeing as well as that of our environment; to do so effectively requires using less, reusing materials, recycling more responsibly and composting – in addition to helping lower energy usage which in turn reduces greenhouse gases emissions and other pollutants.
Production and consumption patterns contribute significantly to climate change. Our decisions regarding food, plastic packaging and building materials production, transportation, use and disposal can have an enormous effect on greenhouse gas emissions as well as environmental impacts – therefore limiting consumption and waste is an invaluable way to combat climate change while benefiting communities’ health and livelihoods simultaneously.
Creation and transporting products requires considerable energy, which results in greenhouse gas emissions. This is especially true of using fossil fuels such as oil or natural gas to power factories that process and manufacture goods; shipping these goods around can also use fossil fuels. Furthermore, using recycled products reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
Reusing and recycling materials also reduce the amount of energy extracted to make and transport them; for instance, switching out wood pallets for recycled plastic ones could save about 830 pounds of CO2. By choosing recycled concrete over virgin one you could save 37% in terms of energy requirements for production.
According to the Drawdown Project, eating a plant-rich diet could remove 65 gigatons of carbon from the atmosphere over 30 years and be the fastest and cheapest way for individuals to fight climate change. Reduce food loss and waste can make an even larger impactful statement: saving over 90 gigatons over that same time period.
