Mitigation of Climate Change. Increased Consideration of Risk and Uncertainty

To achieve a drastic reduction of emissions and a significant increase in carbon uptake from the atmosphere, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, in 2022, recommended a considerable number of mitigation options whose feasibility and potential are yet to be examined in each context. The IPCC also endorsed an approach to assess the feasibility of mitigation options. We discuss some issues in the IPCC report in 2022 that reflect the need for an increased consideration of risk and uncertainty linked to mitigation options. For example, to account for the uncertainty of a mitigation option, a more detailed specification of mitigation options is required. Concerns are also raised about whether the assumptions involved in specifying mitigation options are systematically assessed. From these issues, it follows that mitigation achievement is potentially compromised.

Keywords: Mitigation, Climate risk, Risk, Uncertainty, Feasibility of mitigation, Assumptions.

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