Adaptation and mitigation
Neither adaptation to climate change (reducing the influence how big the future changes and their ef-
potential impacts by changing the circumstances so fects will be.
that they strike less hard) nor mitigation (reducing the
potential impacts by slowing down the process itself) If nothing was done to slow climate change, it would,
alone can avoid all climate change impacts; however, in the long term, be likely that natural, managed and
they can complement each other and together signifi- even human systems would be unable to adapt and
cantly reduce the risks of climate change. therefore fail to fulfill their purpose. The time at which
such limits were reached would vary between sectors
Adaptation is necessary both in the short and longer and regions. Early mitigation actions create the op-
terms to address impacts resulting from the warm- portunity to develop alternatives for carbon-intensive
ing that would occur even if we make massive cuts infrastructure to reduce climate change and thereby
in emissions. This is because the GHGs emitted also reduce the need (and the cost) for adaptation.
already until today continue to have a warming ef- Reliance on adaptation alone could eventually lead to
fect on the climate, independent from how much the climate change so severe that effective adaptation is
world continues to emit in the future. This was shown not possible, or will be available only at very high so-
in chapter 2. We do however have some options to cial, environmental and economic costs.
Mitigation options
Mitigation of climate change seeks to reduce the rate decline thereafter. The lower the stabilization level we
and magnitude of climate change. Slowing down the seek to achieve, the more quickly this peak and decline
processes of climate change would avoid or at least needs to occur.
delay many of its impacts. If the amount of CO
2
eq in
the atmosphere is doubled over pre-industrial levels In order to limit global warming to 2-2.4ºC (2 degrees
to around 550 ppm, the IPCC says global average is the target set by the European Union and other
temperatures will most probably rise at least 1.5ºC or countries, a temperature rise where it is believed that
more. It cannot rule out the possibility that they could it would still be possible to adapt to its impacts with
rise beyond 4.5ºC.The next two to three decades will affordable efforts and costs) emissions would need to
be crucial to achieve lower GHG stabilization levels, i.e. peak between 2000 and 2015. In reality, 2007 was a
to stop the increase of GHGs concentrations in the at- year of record increase in global CO
2
emissions.
mosphere. If we fail to make the necessary efforts and
investments and emissions reductions are delayed the Economic activities have a substantial potential for
risk of more severe climate change impacts increas- mitigation of GHG emissions over the coming dec-
es. In order to stabilize the concentration of GHGs in ades. This could avoid the projected growth of global
the atmosphere, emissions would need to peak and emissions, or even reduce them below their current
Adaptation and mitigation 41
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