Impact Trust • Working glossary

Mitigation (climate)

Cutting emissions or increasing removals of greenhouse gases.

Details

Our Take
Now fairly standard. 'Mitigation' is technically precise in climate contexts but confusingly vague in everyday English (where it just means 'making something less bad'). Worth noting the tension with adaptation: mitigation addresses causes (emissions); adaptation addresses consequences (impacts). If adaptation costs overwhelm fiscal space, mitigation suffers, worsening the climate.
Examples of Use
IPCC, UNFCCC, policy
Synonyms/Variants
Emissions reduction; Decarbonisation; Climate action (looser).
Typical everyday wording
Cutting the pollution that causes climate change.