What is the difference between mitigation and adaptation in climate policy?

• A. Mitigation reduces emissions but adaptation does not.
• B. Mitigation reduces or prevents climate change by lowering emissions; adaptation reduces vulnerability to climate impacts.
• C. Mitigation increases emissions and adaptation reduces emissions.
• D. Mitigation and adaptation are unrelated.

Answer: (B)

In climate policy, mitigation and adaptation are two different ways to respond to climate change. Mitigation aims to address the cause by reducing greenhouse gas emissions or enhancing sinks, so future climate change is less severe. Adaptation, on the other hand, focuses on reducing our vulnerability to the impacts we expect or are experiencing, by changing systems, practices, or infrastructure to cope with those changes.

The correct statement captures this distinction: mitigation reduces or prevents climate change by lowering emissions, while adaptation reduces vulnerability to climate impacts. Examples help ground it: mitigation includes switching to renewable energy, improving energy efficiency, and carbon pricing; adaptation includes building sea walls, adopting drought-resistant crops, and improving water management.

Why the other ideas don’t fit: adaptation does involve adjusting to impacts and can have co-benefits that lower emissions in some cases, but its primary goal is reducing vulnerability, not emissions themselves. Saying mitigation increases emissions is simply incorrect, since its purpose is to lower them. And claiming the two are unrelated ignores how they are complementary parts of comprehensive climate policy.