Mitigation Strategies for

Climate Change
 Climate change is the single largest
environmental threat facing the planet and one
of the biggest crises facing humanity today.

 We need act to fast to halt the catastrophic

impact of climate change.
Can we Avoid Climate Change?
NO

Can we Reduce Climate Change?

YES
 Dealing with Climate Change:

Mitigation (reduce GHG) Adaptation (prepare for

unavoidable impacts)
 Taking action to reduce the
Process of adjustment to changes
severity or intensity of an
in an environment.
event.
refers to changing our lifestyles
 either by reducing sources of to cope with a new environment
these gases rather than trying to stop climate
 change.
or enhancing the size and
amount of greenhouse gas focuses on planning and
storage sites or “sinks” preparing for the effects that are
being experienced now and will be
experienced in the future
Adaptation and mitigation are complements, not trade-offs
Mitigation needs to be a global effort
 Intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC) 1988 provide
policymakers with periodical assessments of the scientific basis of
climate change, its impacts and future risks, as well as
alternatives for adaptation and mitigation.
 Earth Summit, 1992 (UN Conference on Environment and
Development, 195 parties). An 1992 international treaty to consider
yearly what can be done globally to reduce and to cope with global
warming.
 Under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol many developed countries agreed to
legally binding reductions in their global greenhouse gas emission
by at least 5% compared to 1990 levels by 2012.
 Although the USA and Australia refused to sign. Emerging
economies, such as China and India, were exempt. Countries such
as Japan and most of the EU were expected to cut emissions by
between 6 and 8%.
 The Paris Climate Convention (COP21) (2015) ended with an
agreement to reduce global carbon dioxide emissions to below
60% of 2010 levels and to restrict global warming to a 2°C increase
by 2050.
 Countries will set their own voluntary targets and there is no
detailed timetable. It has been agreed that developed countries
will transfer funds and technologies to help developing countries
to achieve their targets.
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) or Carbon Sequestration

In order to reduce or postpone global warming

 capturing CO2 at power plants, industrial sites, or even directly
from the air then its long term storage in sinks for indefinite time.
Carbon sink may be as
 Green carbon refers to carbon fixed by photosynthesis by tree
either by Afforestation & reforestation
 Blue carbon" refers to carbon fixed by ocean ecosystems.
 Afforestation
The UN’s Reducing Emissions from Deforestation
and Forest Degradation (REDD) scheme offers
incentives to developing countries to protect their
forests. Conservation and sustainable
management are also crucial.
The EU Forest Strategy also focuses on
sustainable forest management. This has involved
using satellite technology to map the forest
carbon store.
In April 2016, the EU and Indonesia signed a
Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade
(FLEGT) licensing scheme. designed to reduce Dr. Wangari Maathai, Kenya, Nobel Peace
illegal logging of forests and promote trade in Prize laureate, Green Belt movement
legally produced timber. (1976)
The Big Tree Plant campaign encourages
communities to plant 1 million new trees,
mostly in urban areas.
Wetland restoration

 Wetlands (salt and freshwater marshes, floodplains, peat lands,

mangroves) cover up to 9% of the Earth’s land surface but contain
35% of the terrestrial carbon store.
 Trans-government initiatives such as the International Convention
on Wetlands (Ramsar) and the European Union Habitats Directive
promote restoration projects around the world.
 Maintaining wetlands prevents the decay of carbon stocks by aerobic respiration
they are resistant to decay under anaerobic conditions. Large amounts of stored
carbon would remain in the wetlands, and would increase over time.
Cap and trade
 The Kyoto Protocol introduced the idea that a country which cut
its emissions below the level at which it had been ‘capped’ would
be able to trade the unused volume of emissions. Another country
could buy these theoretical emissions and offset them against
emissions above the agreed level. This would allow it to achieve
its target or cap.
 The EU introduced a similar cap and trade system in 2005
(EUETS). Individual businesses, especially energy intensive ones
e.g. metal, cement or refining industries, are able to receive
credits if they achieve lower-than-set emissions, which can then
be sold.
 The idea of this carbon market is that polluters have to pay while
clean companies are rewarded.
Changing agricultural practices
 There are several measures to reduce carbon emissions from agriculture which
target both carbon dioxide and methane.
 They include:
• Zero tillage: not ploughing but drilling seed directly into the soil thereby conserving
organic matter in the soil.
• Poly culture: growing annual crops in between trees which helps protect soils from
erosion and stores carbon in the trees.
• Crop residues: leaving residues such as stems and leaves on the field after
harvesting helps protect soils from erosion.
• New strains of plants, e.g. rice, which require less water in the padi fields, therefore
generating less methane.
• Managing manure, e.g. using it in anaerobic digesters to produce methane which
can be used to generate power
Energy efficiency

 The Green Deal scheme encouraged energy-saving improvements to homes, such

as efficient boilers and lighting, and improved insulation. It was scrapped in 2015.
 Energy suppliers must comply with the Energy Company Obligation scheme to
deliver energy-efficient measures (e.g. smart meters) to householders.
Renewable switching

 The current relationship between the big energy providers and the government
dictates the amount of switching from fossil fuels to renewables and nuclear power.
 Renewables (solar, wind and wave) provide intermittent electricity, while fossil fuels
and nuclear provide the continuous power essential for our current infrastructure.
 The Climate Change Levy, designed in 2001 to encourage renewable energy
investment and use, was cut in 2015.