COMMENT | Fighting climate change: Mitigation or adaptation?

COMMENT | I was once asked, “Mitigation or adaptation, which one do you think is more critical?’’ while interviewing for a researcher post a few years ago.

To the uninitiated, climate change mitigation is about reducing the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, while adaptation is about reducing our risks from the harmful effects of climate change, i.e. extreme weather events.

That was a tough question for a newbie like me who at that time only saw climate change as a phenomenon of hot weather and crazy rain.

Nevertheless, I composed myself and answered calmly, ‘‘I think both are equally important as I believe climate change can be slowed down with a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, but adaptation measures must also be in place to minimise its impacts on livelihoods and assets.”

I remember the then-institute director-general gave me a smile of approval when he heard the answer. That was how I started my career in climate change, with my first exposure being conducting greenhouse gas inventory under the Land Use, Land Use Change, and Forestry (LULUCF) sector for national reporting to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)...