Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies for Climate Change

The stakes…
• To limit irreversible/ highly-damaging impacts on environment & societies → must limit
change in GMST to less than +2o (~550 ppm CO2 in atmosphere)
• Why isn’t more being done to curb emissions and build resilience to environment changes?
• Not all groups face same risk exposure
• Many of the most vulnerable have the least power to enact change

Factors impacting risk perception/ vulnerability

1. Location
2. Wealth
3. Education
4. Age
5. Influence of media and leaders

Major strategies available to governments:

1. Do nothing
2. Mitigation: addressing root-causes of climate change by reducing GHG emissions and/ or
increasing carbon capture
3. Adaptation: adjusting to changing conditions in environment (coastal defenses against rising
sea levels, etc.)

Mitigation approaches:
• Energy conservation/ efficiency
• Renewable energy sources
• More sustainable transport (fuel efficiency, rail vs. trucks, etc.)
• Use of landfill & sewage digester gas
• Carbon sequestration & sinks (tree planting, etc.)
**High up-front costs for these measures

Adaptation approaches:
• Relocation & land-use change
• Business contingency planning
• Upgrades to buildings/ infrastructure
• Education/ training
• Health spending
**Higher (and ever-increasing) long-term/ future costs

Common to both approaches:

• Building efficiency (better insulation, etc.)
• “Green” infrastructure
• Conserving resources (water, energy, etc.)

International climate change agreements

• Concerns growing since 1980s
• Culminated in 2015 Paris Climate Conference (COP21) & resulting Paris Agreement
• Designed to limit GMST rise to +1.5° (rather than predicted +2°)
• Signed by 195 countries (though not all have ratified)
• Countries set their own contribution goals (NDCs) and regularly increase

Paris Climate Agreement (COP21)

• Premise: GHG emissions can rise (but should slow) but will need carbon capture technology in
future
• Emissions targets set by countries, but reviewed and increased every 5 years
• Countries must keep and share accurate emissions data
• Rich countries share technology with developing countries, help vulnerable countries with
funding
• Developed countries acknowledge larger role in historic carbon stock contribution

Evaluating the Paris (COP21) Agreement

European agreements
• EU = largest group of high-income countries
• Accept major role in historic carbon stock contributions
• GHG emission cut pledges:
• - 20% (vs. 1990) by 2020
• - 80% by 2050

Carbon emissions trading & offsets

• CET (carbon emissions trading) systems:
• Mitigation strategy (reduces emissions)
• ‘environmental economics’ – relies on market forces rather than pure government
regulation
• Businesses & consumers will favor low carbon options if less expensive
• a.k.a. cap and trade systems

Example: EU emissions trading system (EUETS)

• Established 2003 (largest ETS system)
• Participating power plants, factories, etc. given set carbon credit/ allowance
• If business exceeds allowance, it pays fine (thus increasing price) or buys unused credits
from others (tradable allowance)
• Those who do not use entire allowance can sell excess for profit
• number/ size of credits is reduced over time
• Criticized for issuing too many credits (limits effectiveness)

Carbon offsets:
• Mitigation strategy
• Compensate for emission– causing activities by achieving emission savings elsewhere
• Ex: plant a tree to offset plane/ long car trip
 • Companies offer offsetting services for price
• Criticized for lack of accountability, small scale of influence on overall emissions

Technology fixes and geo-engineering

• Offers hope for future reduction of emissions & stock in atmosphere
• Dangerous (?) – incentivizes continuing on as usual
• Generally aim to do one of two things:
• Remove CO2 from atmosphere (CDR)
• Reflect more sunlight (SRM)

Carbon capture and storage (CCS)

• Capture and store new fossil fuel emissions underground
• Process:
1. CO2 separated from power plant’s emissions
2. CO2 is compressed and transported
3. CO2 is injected into porous rock layers
• Major potential solution for coal power plant emissions (still a major source of energy)
• Challenges: unproven technology; expensive; CO2 must remain trapped (tricky)
Sunlight reflection methods (SRM)
• Aim to reduce amount of solar radiation that reaches the surface
• Examples:
1. Orbital mirrors to reflect sunlight
• Costs? Safety?
2. Injecting reflective particles into upper-atmosphere (global dimming)
• Disruption of natural weather patterns
• Could cause international conflict
• Contributes to ozone depletion
3. Spraying seawater into clouds to make them whiter/ more reflective
 Civil society and corporate strategies to tackle climate change

The need for action

• Solutions cannot just come from governments
• Need individuals, businesses, civil society organizations to contribute
• Why so little action?
• Complexity and long-term nature of problem
• Financial priorities
• Financial crisis in West – other priorities rank much higher
• People in poverty more concerned with daily survival
• Skepticism – not believing reports

Examples of nongovernmental action