Mitigation — Climate Words

Mitigation

DEFINITION
Farzana Faruk Jhumu
Climate Activist

In the context of climate change, mitigation refers to actions taken to reduce, prevent, or absorb greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions into the atmosphere. While professional discussions around mitigation, like the IPCC’s Working Group III Report, often become highly technical, its core meaning can be illustrated with simple strokes: mitigation is about stopping the world from burning at one end and drowning at the other, rather than figuring out how to extinguish the fires and learn how to swim once it’s already too late.

Mitigation efforts primarily focus on reducing emissions at their source. This includes phasing out fossil fuels and transitioning to renewable energy, improving energy efficiency across sectors such as transportation, industry, health, and waste management, and rethinking how energy and resources are produced and consumed.

Alongside emission reductions, mitigation also involves removing or absorbing previously emitted greenhouse gases (especially carbon dioxide) from the atmosphere. Natural systems such as forests, soils, and oceans, acting as carbon sinks, play a critical role in this. They can be supported through processes like afforestation and ecosystem restoration.

There are also various technologies focusing on carbon removal and carbon capturing, which are becoming increasingly popular. However, it is important to contextualise these practices, as many civil society and rights-based organisations strongly criticise the usage of such technologies by high-emitting industries, pointing to unresolved risks such as carbon leakage, continued fossil fuel dependence, and violations of Indigenous land and resource rights.

As such, mitigation is not only a scientific or technological challenge, but a deeply political one that raises questions about responsibility, justice, and whose solutions are prioritised in the fight against climate change.

RESEARCH
Definition edited by Zohra Briki
Research by Micheala Chan
Fact-checking by Hailey Basiouny

Definition January 27, 2026
Info Pack February 5, 2026

Climate change mitigation refers to any action taken by governments, businesses or people to reduce or prevent greenhouse gases, or to enhance carbon sinks that remove them from the atmosphere.
Climate mitigation is imperative for us to meet the 1.5°C goal in the Paris Agreement. This requires a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 45% before 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by mid-century.(1)
Greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced by transitioning to renewable energy, improving energy efficiency, adopting lower‑emission agricultural practices, protecting and restoring forests and other carbon‑sequestering ecosystems, and establishing strong regulatory, policy, and investment frameworks such as carbon pricing and sector‑specific emissions limits.(1)
The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) requires that all Parties develop and implement programmes and policies containing measures to mitigate climate change, bearing in mind their responsibilities and capabilities. This is known as the principle of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC), which recognises that while all countries have an obligation to address climate change, countries have different duties and abilities to address the negative impacts of climate change.
The Paris Agreement also sets out the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) as an instrument for countries to set out their plans and pledges for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing climate resilience. These are updated every five years, and include absolute/relative targets and sectoral goals.
Co-benefits are the positive impacts that a policy or action aimed at climate actions might have on other objectives. With careful, integrated planning and policies, climate mitigation interventions can provide many co-benefits to society, including improved health outcomes, environmental conservation, and increased productivity. The value of co-benefits often equals or outweighs the cost of climate mitigation and/or adaptation interventions.
Hard‑to‑abate sectors like industry, aviation, shipping, buildings, and especially agriculture remain difficult to decarbonise due to rapid growth and limited affordable technologies, meaning they currently rely on carbon‑removal methods that carry major risks; cutting agricultural non‑CO₂ emissions offers the biggest impact, and the most effective solutions combine technology and demand‑side changes (e.g., shifting from short flights to high‑speed rail where infrastructure exists).
Nature-based solutions are the best way of delivering massive and rapid decarbonisation through land-based options, capable of delivering several gigatonnes of emissions reductions and removals by mid-century. These solutions involve protecting, restoring and sustainably managing natural carbon sinks and reservoirs. However, strict social and environmental safeguards will be required in the implementation of these nature-based solutions to avoid harm.
Mitigating climate change is difficult because the global economy is structurally dependent on fossil fuels, making it politically and economically challenging to remove subsidies and shift away from carbon‑intensive systems. The transition to renewable energy also relies on critical minerals that take over a decade to bring into production and are concentrated in low‑income countries, creating supply‑chain risks and geopolitical tensions. At the same time, agriculture remains the leading driver of global deforestation, meaning that transforming food systems offers one of the most powerful opportunities to cut emissions while protecting land, water and food security.(1)

1
United Nations Development Programme. “What Is Climate Change Mitigation and Why Is It Urgent?” UNDP Climate Promise, February 29, 2024.
2
Romdhane, Malek. “What Is the Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC) Principle?” ClimaTalk, July 12, 2021.
3
United Nations. “Introduction to Mitigation.” Unfccc.int, n.d.
4
Chastin, Sebastian, Neil Jennings, Jaime Toney, Laura Diaz Anadon, and Pete Smith. “Co-Benefits of Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Actions.” COP26 Universities Network Briefing, 2021.
5
Edelenbosch, Oreane, Maarten van den Berg, Harmen-Sytze de Boer, HsingHsuan Chen, Vassilis Daioglou, Mark Dekker, Jonathan Doelman, et al. “Mitigating Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Hard-To-Abate Sectors.” PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, July 2022.
6
United Nations Environment Programme, and International Union for Conservation of Nature. “Nature-Based Solutions for Climate Change Mitigation.” UN Environment Programme Knowledge Repository, November 2021.