Climate change mitigation includes actions taken to reduce the
amount of greenhouse
gases being added to the atmosphere in order to reduce
the effects of climate change. In contrast, adaptation
involves acting to tolerate the effects of global warming.
Most often, climate change mitigation involves reductions
in the concentrations of greenhouse gases, either by reducing
their sources or by increasing their sink/absorption.
The UN defines mitigation in the context of climate change, as a
human intervention to reduce the sources or enhance the sinks of
greenhouse gases. Examples include using fossil fuels more
efficiently for industrial processes or electricity generation,
switching to renewable energy (solar energy or wind power),
improving the insulation of buildings, and expanding forests and
other “sinks” to remove greater amounts of carbon dioxide from
the atmosphere.
