Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Introduction
At the moment there is no binding international agreement to cut emissions though many
countries are unilaterally undertaking mitigation policies. It is clear that the current trend of
GHG emissions is now above the worst-case scenarios considered by the 2013/14 IPCC re-
ports. This is primarily due to the rapid development of the emerging economies such as
China, India, Brazil, and South Africa. So this chapter examines three types of solutions to
climate change. The first is adaptation, which simply put is providing protection for the
population, as we already know that there will be climate change even if emissions were
radically cut back to 1990 levels. Second is mitigation, which in its simplest terms is redu-
cing our carbon footprint and thus reversing the trend of ever-increasing GHG emissions.
Third is geoengineering that involves large-scale extraction of carbon dioxide from the at-
mosphere or modification of the global climate.
