Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
As humanity has become increasingly aware of the threats posed by climate change, a series of
responses have gradually emerged. The first set of responses is referred to as mitigationstrategies.
Mitigation strategies involve attempts to first stabilize and then reduce the human production of
greenhouse gases. Mitigation strategies can take a variety of forms including the establishment of
carbon taxes, international climate change agreements, carbon markets and trading schemes, carbon
offsetting programmes and the development of low-carbon technologies. Attempts to develop
climate change mitigation strategies have experienced a series of obstacles to their successful
implementation. At an international level, it has proved difficult to establish international agreements
on the how to collectively reduced global society's production of greenhouse gases. Although a
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has been established in order to
coordinate action on climate change, individual states are concerned about the impacts that attempts
to tackle global warming may have on their economic development prospects. At an individual level,
it has also proved difficult to persuade people, who are used to the conveniences of personal car
ownership and central heating, to adopt lower carbon lifestyles.
The second set of responses to climate change is collectively referred to as adaptationstrategies.
Adaptation strategies recognize that no matter how successful climate change mitigation strategies
may be, society is now locked into certain forms of unavoidable climate change. Adaptation thus
involves individuals, communities and states working to try to ensure that people are able to cope
Source: Author's own collection
