Compare climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies with examples.

• A. Mitigation reduces emissions and increases sinks; adaptation reduces vulnerability to climate impacts; Examples: carbon pricing vs building resilient infrastructure.
• B. Mitigation reduces vulnerability to climate impacts; adaptation reduces emissions.
• C. Mitigation is about adapting to pests; adaptation is about energy conservation.
• D. Mitigation and adaptation are the same.

Answer: (A)

Mitigation and adaptation address climate change in different ways: mitigation aims to limit the magnitude of climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and by increasing sinks that remove CO2 from the atmosphere, while adaptation focuses on reducing the harm from climate impacts by lowering vulnerability and boosting resilience of people and systems. For mitigation, tools like carbon pricing encourage lower emissions across the economy, and protecting or restoring forests and other sinks helps store carbon. For adaptation, building resilient infrastructure, improving flood defenses, and adjusting agricultural practices help communities cope with higher temperatures, more extreme weather, and changing rainfall.

This pairing—emission cuts and carbon sinks on one side, reduced vulnerability on the other, with corresponding examples—best captures the distinct goals and actions of mitigation versus adaptation.