Climate change adaptation and mitigation definitions

What is climate change adaptation?

Climate change adaptation focuses on improving the ability of a system to adjust to climate change (including climate variability and extremes), to reduce potential damage, to take advantage of opportunities, or to cope with the consequences.

What is climate change mitigation?

Climate change mitigation involves direct actions to reduce the rate of release to the atmosphere of greenhouse gases (e.g. emissions reductions) and/or increasing the sequestration of carbon through activities such as revegetation and soil storage. In West Gippsland there are a range of activities, such as investment in renewable energy sources or transition away from high emissions farming systems, which will decrease regional carbon emissions. The main focus of the West Gippsland Regional NRM Climate Change Strategy however is on sequestration activities that have the ability to increase carbon storage in plants and soils, whilst protecting the values of priority regional assets including waterways, wetlands, terrestrial habitat, coastal ecosystems and agricultural land.