Climate change mitigation

Abstract

Emitted greenhouse gases (GHGs) accumulate in the atmosphere and trap some of the sun’s heat, which makes life on Earth possible. But since the industrial revolution, GHG emissions have increased drastically – thus less and less of the sun’s heat can escape – resulting in climate change or global warming. 1 While precise predictions are difficult to make, if left unmitigated, the rise of the average temperature of Earth’s atmosphere and oceans will soon have severe negative effects for the planet and its inhabitants. These include loss of habitat due to desertification or sea level rise, decrease in water resources in many already dry areas and a reduction in the food supply due to a decrease in the length of growing seasons and suitable area for agriculture in many parts of the world. Furthermore, incidences and severity of storms, floods and droughts are likely to increase (see IPCC 2013).