Climate mitigation
Human intervention that reduces greenhouse gas emissions or increases their removal from the atmosphere.
Example
Actions include reducing fossil fuel use and preventing methane leaks.
The catch
Mitigation addresses causes; managing impacts has a different purpose.
Related terms
Fossil fuel, Greenhouse gas, Methane, Venting, Avoided emissions, Carbon capture and storage
In more depth
Climate mitigation, explained.
Climate mitigation tackles the cause of warming, and the IPCC finds that options available today, many of them low-cost, could cut global emissions deeply this decade. Cheaper wind and solar power carry much of that potential, along with electrification and methane control. Demand-side mitigation adds changes in how people travel, heat homes and eat.
The everyday meaning of the word causes trouble. In ordinary English, mitigation means softening any harm, so a 'flood mitigation scheme' sounds like climate mitigation but belongs to climate adaptation in IPCC terms. Use the climate sense only for actions that reduce emissions or increase removals, and say which gases and which period a mitigation figure covers.