Edukacja Ekologiczna

What does the concept of mitigation measures mean in relation to the climate change?

Mitigation involves overall activities aimed at reducing emissions of greenhouse gas (i.e., carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, etc.) and increasing their absorption by ecosystems. Such activities may take various forms. The main challenge is to reduce emissions that result from combustion of fossil fuels (i.e., coal, oil and gas), which account for about 70% of total greenhouse gas emissions, and to replace them with zero- or low-emission energy sources. Wind, solar and nuclear energy may seriously compete in economic terms with oil, gas and coal due to significant decrease in installation costs. Changing the power source, however, requires the expansion of power grids and the introduction of new energy storage solutions. The same goal can also be achieved by improving energy efficiency. Among these activities, we can distinguish those aimed at reducing the energy demand of individual economic sectors and households. It is also worth mentioning that in the electricity sector low- and zero-emission technologies are the most developed and their costs keep dropping, while ensuring the highest percentage reduction of carbon dioxide emissions under an effective climate policy.

For example, one of the mitigation measures is the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions by changing heating systems to low- or zero-emission ones. Other activities include changing business practices (performing environmental audits, introducing pro-ecological changes in business management) and production practices (introducing more environmentally friendly technologies), as well as a gradual shift away from fossil fuels for the generation of low-emission electricity, thanks to low- and zero-emission energy sources and nuclear energy. It is also important to replace public transport fleets, so that they are powered by alternative energy sources, as well to develop bicycle infrastructure and promote the replacement of petrol-powered passenger cars with electric or hybrid vehicles because their pollutant emission and overall fuel consumption are much lower.

What does the concept of adaptation measures mean in relation to the climate change?

Adaptation to the climate change involves activities undertaken to reduce impact of the climate change on the economy, society and environment. It is a process of adjusting to changing climatic conditions when we are aware that regardless of efforts or actions aimed at mitigating the climate change, violent climatic phenomena will continue to pose an increasing threat to us. The aforementioned report indicates that the adaptation to the climate change should include the introduction of measures adapting natural or man-made systems to the current and expected conditions and effects of the climate change in such a way that damages and negative impacts of changes are minimized, while the positive consequences are well-used.

These measures should be based in the introduction of pro-ecological solutions in cities, such as:

• changes in the spatial management which involves the elimination of the so-called “concrete deserts” and their replacement with green areas;
• proper spatial planning and preserving as many green areas as possible;
• avoiding buildings (e.g., on floodplains);
• expansion of local retention systems to minimize the effects of sudden rainstorms.

Naturally, there are more activities that can be undertaken and most of them can be partially financed from EU funds.

Why is it so important?

First of all, we need to be aware that Poland is also affected by the consequences of the climate change that we all witness as we struggle with material damages caused by violent weather phenomena, such as thunderstorms, rainstorms and droughts. The observed trends, including climate change scenarios, continue to show that although annual precipitation totals will increase, their geographical distribution will change. At the same time, the temporality of atmospheric phenomena will be disturbed, and their intensity will increase significantly when the environment is unable to absorb an increased amount of water during heavy rainfalls. In addition, the annual temperature will rise, which will force farmers to invest in other types of crops. Depending on geographic conditions, some regions of Poland will be more exposed to such changes than others. It is important that the remedial actions cover the entire area of ​​our country and are adapted to the specificity of individual regions. That is why it is so important for local government units to develop climate change adaptation plans for cities (especially those most exposed to them), where the effects (e.g., droughts, sudden floods or rainfalls) are already felt.