Managing Climate Change

Forest fires. Cities underwater. Extreme heat. The images of climate change’s potentially devastating effects are frightening. Not all hope is lost, however. Humans have options for managing climate change and its effects in the future, as well as preventing the worst. So, what kind of strategies are there for managing climate change? What is the difference between adaptation and mitigation? Read on to find out more!

Strategies for managing climate change

Climate change can happen through natural causes, but the current change is caused by human activities that release greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, making the earth warmer. This is called global warming, and climate change is all the after-effects on the earth as a result of global warming.

Climate change is a global issue, and no one person, group, or country can claim to be free of any responsibility to address it. Strategies for managing climate change can range from massive multinational agreements to something as simple as choosing to ride a bike instead of driving.

Now, let's break down the strategies for managing climate change into mitigation techniques and adaptation techniques.

Mitigation techniques

When we talk about mitigation techniques as one of the strategies for managing climate change, we mean ways in which the worst effects of climate change can be prevented. Let’s go over various mitigation techniques.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions

Using petrol to power a car and burning coal to generate electricity all produce greenhouse gasses. As stated earlier, these greenhouse gasses are the primary driver of global warming and climate change, so bringing them down is absolutely key to mitigating climate change. The largest contributors to climate change are transportation, energy generation, and agricultural practices. A switch from burning fossil fuels to renewable energy sources like wind and solar can greatly reduce the emissions from generating electricity. Switching from burning petrol and diesel in automobiles to using electricity is another way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and is even better if the electricity comes from a renewable source! The emissions in the agricultural industry come from the fuel needed to transport food, fertilizer usage, and the animals themselves.

Fig. 1 - Schematic of the greenhouse gas effect

Forestation

Trees and plants take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen, meaning the more there are, the better our planet can cope with the carbon emissions humans are putting out. The amount of forested land has decreased over the decades due to logging and clearing land for farms. By planting more trees, climate change can be mitigated with more carbon dioxide being taken out of the atmosphere.

Carbon capture

Some experimental technologies exist currently that pull carbon dioxide directly out of the atmosphere, resulting in fewer greenhouse gases. The use of these technologies is controversial, due to how expensive they are, their energy needs, and how long it will take until they can actually make an impact. Right now, the carbon capture technology is not advanced enough to make a big difference in reducing the amount of carbon in our atmosphere.

Adaptation techniques

In contrast to mitigation techniques, which try to prevent the effects of climate change, adaptation techniques are ways in which we can change things to make climate change less damaging. In a sense, adaptation techniques accept that some consequences of climate change are going to happen, so we need to make sure the impact isn’t as severe. Below are some different adaptation techniques.

Sea level rise protection

The melting of polar ice caps is set to increase the sea level across the globe. Cities on coastlines must adapt to the rising levels or end up underwater. The construction of flood walls, levees, and seawalls is a major strategy humans have to stem the rising waters. Concrete or earthen mounds in key areas can help keep flooding at bay and have been used for centuries¹ in low-lying places like New Orleans and Amsterdam. In some of the most at-risk places, humans may be forced to move elsewhere, and adequately preparing for and helping people move is one of the key adaptation techniques.

Fig. 2 - Seawalls like this one in North Norfolk may be necessary to prevent coastal flooding

Adapting to increased heat

Extreme heat itself is a major threat to human health–heat stroke and exhaustion are dangerous. With temperatures predicted to keep rising, people need to adapt in order to keep cool. Places, where air conditioning is uncommon, may find themselves needing them to live comfortably in the future. Passive cooling is another adaptation technique, where buildings and houses are designed to lower indoor temperatures without using energy, usually by reducing the amount of sunlight coming in and using certain building materials. The rooves of buildings are key to lowering the heat inside and out, with reflective colours and planted roofs helping to lower the sun’s warming effect.

Agriculture

Changes to the climate across the globe mean that certain crops can no longer be harvested. Parts of southern Italy now, for instance, can consistently grow mangoes, a fruit requiring lots of heat and sunlight. Switching to different crops is a necessary adaptation to climate change. Increased heat also leads to our freshwater sources drying up and more droughts, so crops that can handle less water will need to be planted too.

Managing the health effects of climate change

The health effects of climate change are pretty clear. Human health is at risk from climate change across the globe. Reduced air quality from forest fires, heat dangers, dehydration, and increased risk of disease are all possible as a direct result of climate change. Healthcare systems will be placed under increased strain, and a steady supply of healthcare professionals and funding needs to be maintained to address it. As mentioned earlier, places will need more air conditioning–not just for comfort, but for legitimate health reasons too.

Fig. 3 - Increased droughts from climate change harm human health and agriculture

Managing water supplies

Water is a building block of life, humans cannot live without it. Due to climate change, some places will see their fresh water supplies dwindle, while others will have more than enough. This imbalance poses a great health risk, but is not without solutions. Water sharing between and within countries can help relieve areas with little access to water. Perhaps one day instead of oil, water will be shipped through pipelines and across oceans to provide for people in need.

Managing forests for climate change mitigation

How we manage our forests plays a key role in mitigating climate change. Forests help suck in the carbon in our atmosphere, keeping global temperatures from rising, and without them, our planet stands to get much, much worse. Our need for paper and wood is not going to go away overnight, so forests must be managed sustainably. Massive programs to reforest (plant trees in areas where forests once existed) and afforest (plant trees in areas where forests never existed) can help increase the planet’s natural ability to offset carbon emissions. At the very least, we must ensure that our massive forests like the Amazon are not decimated to ensure a healthy future for all living things.