Topic 7
Climate Change and Energy Production
7.3 Climate Change - mitigation and adaptation
Mitigation and adaptation strategies
mitigation
refers to the strategies that attempt to reduce the
causes of climate change
The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) has
defined mitigation as ‘an anthropogenic intervention to reduce
the sources or enhance the sinks of greenhouse gases’.
A greenhouse gas sink is a process, activity or
mechanism that removes a greenhouse gas from the
atmosphere.
adaptation
refers to the strategies that attempt to manage the
impact of climate change.
mitigation
1. reducing energy consumption
2. reducing emissions of oxides of nitrogen and
methane from agriculture
3. increase the use of renewable energy as an
alternative to fossil fuels
4. Geoengeneering
Geoengeneering
is the deliberate large-scale intervention in the Earth’s
natural systems to counteract climate change.
Geoengeneering techniques can be grouped into two
categories:
solar radiation management
carbon dioxide removal
solar radiation management
stratospheric aerosols: place small reflective particles (similar
to volcanic eruptions)
albedo enhancement: increasing the reflectiveness of clouds
and lands surfaces (e.g. whitening of roofs)
space reflectors: placed outside the Earth’s atmosphere
carbon dioxide removal
afforestation: trees planted on a global scale
ambient air capture: large machines to capture carbon dioxide
directly from the atmosphere and store it elsewhere
carbon capture and storage or sequestration: capture the
emission from the use of fossil fuels, preventing CO2 to enter
the atmosphere
ocean fertilization: nutrients added in the ocean to increase
primary productivity
ocean alkalinity fertilization: dissolved rocks such as limestone
placed in the ocean
enhanced weathering: large quantities of minerals that will
react with carbon dioxide are exposed
adaptation
refers to the strategies that attempt to manage the
impact of climate change.
adaptive capacity is the capacity of a system to adapt to
the changes of the environment.
1. building coastal defenses to protect agains rising sea levels
2. improving the quality of road surfaces to withstand higher
temperatures
3. developing drought-resistant crops in regions where
precipitation is declining
4. vaccination programs to cope with changing spatial patters of
diseases
5. behavioral changes such as individual and group decisions to
reduce environmental impact
Geoengeneerin
g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=BTncjs89l-s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=BTncjs89l-s
Geoengeneerin
g
https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/04/04/1090626/the-hard-lessons-of-harvards-failed-geoengineering -
experiment/
https://www.scientificameri
article/high-profile-geoeng
experiment-shuts-do
