Great Lakes Report Technical Appendix: Climate Change Solutions

Reducing emissions can avoid many of the worst of potential impacts from climate change. It is the first of these three complementary and necessary strategies to comprehensively deal with climate change. In addition, it is essential to reduce or eliminate other direct human pressures on the environment. This approach can result in long-run economic and human health benefits, but also safer water supplies, improved agricultural and forestry productivity, environmental protection and aesthetics and recreational opportunities. And of course, the benefit with regard to climate change is that it strengthens the resilience of ecosystems to the additional stresses from a warming climate.

Finally, we must recognize that even if we are successful in relieving human pressures on ecosystems and minimizing climate change by reducing heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions, our climate will still change in the future. Because heat-trapping emissions stay in the atmosphere for a long time and because it is challenging to change our energy-hungry society and economy over the short term, the concentration of greenhouse gases is likely to increase for several more decades. This means that we must also plan and prepare to manage the future impacts from climate change.

Please click on the links below for further information, including many regional examples of how states and communities are beginning to implement these three strategies:

• Reducing Emissions of Heat-Trapping Gases
• Minimizing Human Pressures on the Environment
• Managing the Impacts of Climate Change