Climate change mitigation

Aerial view of a solar farm with part of a wind farm in the background
public transport
reforestation
Plant-based dishes
Various aspects of climate change mitigation: Renewable energy (solar and wind power) in England, electrified public transport in France, a reforestation project in Haiti to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and an example of a plant-based meal.

Climate change mitigation (or decarbonisation) is action to limit climate change. This action either reduces emissions of greenhouse gases or removes those gases from the atmosphere.[1][2] The recent rise in global temperature is mostly due to emissions from burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas. There are various ways how mitigation can reduce emissions. One important way is to switch to sustainable energy sources (a process called energy transition). Other ways are to conserve energy and to increase efficiency. It is possible to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. This can be done by enlarging forests, restoring wetlands and using other natural and technical processes. The name for these processes is carbon sequestration.[3]: 12 [4] Governments and companies have pledged to reduce emissions to prevent dangerous climate change. These pledges are in line with international negotiations to limit warming.

Solar energy and wind power have the greatest potential for mitigation at the lowest cost compared to a range of other options.[5] The availability of sunshine and wind is variable. But it is possible to deal with this through installing energy storage and improving electrical grids. For this to work, it is helpful to invest in long-distance electricity transmission, demand management and diversification of renewables.[6]: 1  Any process that can be powered by electricity instead of fossil fuels needs to be looked at in order to reduce emissions from that process. This is because if the electricity comes from renewable sources instead of fossil fuels then such a switch to another energy source will reduce emissions. However, certain industrial processes cannot function without emitting carbon dioxide (for example cement production). For those industrial processes carbon capture and storage can be an option to reduce their net emissions.[7]

Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture include methane as well as nitrous oxide. It is possible to cut emissions from agriculture by reducing food waste, switching to a more plant-based diet (also referred to as low-carbon diet), and by improving farming processes.[8]: XXV 

The are many tools and policy instruments to encourage actions for climate change mitigation. For example, a carbon pricing system can be set up by implementing carbon taxes and carbon emission trading. Fossil fuel subsidies could be scrapped and subsidies offered for clean energy instead.[9] Current policies are insufficient as they would still result in global warming of about 2.7 °C by 2100.[10] This warming is significantly above the 2015 Paris Agreement's goal of limiting global warming to well below 2 °C and preferably to 1.5 °C.[11][12]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference IPCC AR6 WGI Glossary was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Chen, Lin; Msigwa, Goodluck; Yang, Mingyu; Osman, Ahmed I.; Fawzy, Samer; Rooney, David W.; Yap, Pow-Seng (2022). "Strategies to achieve a carbon neutral society: a review". Environmental Chemistry Letters. 20 (4): 2277–2310. Bibcode:2022EnvCL..20.2277C. doi:10.1007/s10311-022-01435-8. PMC 8992416. PMID 35431715.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Olivier-2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Sector by sector: where do global greenhouse gas emissions come from?". Our World in Data. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference AR6 WGIII Ch 13 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Ram M., Bogdanov D., Aghahosseini A., Gulagi A., Oyewo A.S., Child M., Caldera U., Sadovskaia K., Farfan J., Barbosa LSNS., Fasihi M., Khalili S., Dalheimer B., Gruber G., Traber T., De Caluwe F., Fell H.-J., Breyer C. Global Energy System based on 100% Renewable Energy – Power, Heat, Transport and Desalination Sectors Archived 2021-04-01 at the Wayback Machine. Study by Lappeenranta University of Technology and Energy Watch Group, Lappeenranta, Berlin, March 2019.
  7. ^ "Cement – Analysis". IEA. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference UNEP-2022 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "Climate Change Performance Index" (PDF). November 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  10. ^ Ritchie, Hannah; Roser, Max; Rosado, Pablo (11 May 2020). "CO2 and Greenhouse Gas Emissions". Our World in Data. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  11. ^ Harvey, Fiona (26 November 2019). "UN calls for push to cut greenhouse gas levels to avoid climate chaos". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  12. ^ "Cut Global Emissions by 7.6 Percent Every Year for Next Decade to Meet 1.5°C Paris Target – UN Report". United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. United Nations. Retrieved 27 November 2019.