22.3. CURRENT ACTIONS FOR ADAPTATION AND MITIGATION

♤ Adaptation, in the context of climate change, comprises the measures taken to minimize the adverse impacts of climate change, e.g. relocating the communities living close to the sea shore, for instance, to cope with the rising sea level or switching to crops that can withstand higher temperatures.

♤ Mitigation comprises measures to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases that cause climate change in the first place, e.g. by switching to renewable sources of energy such as solar energy or wind energy, or nuclear energy instead of burning fossil fuel in thermal power stations.

♤ Current Indian government expenditure on adaptation to climate variability, exceeds 2.6% of the GDP, with agriculture, water resources, health and sanitation, forests, coastal-zone infrastructure and extreme weather events, being specific areas of concern.