March 11, 2026

We don’t have to choose between climate adaptation and mitigation – we can do both

by Ruthie Burrows, Ph.D.

A graphic with heat pumps and trees in front of a blue-tinted forest

Key Takeaways

Climate mitigation and adaptation aren’t opposing paths. Many solutions can cut emissions and strengthen communities against climate impacts at the same time.
Heat pumps are an example of these win-win climate solutions. They reduce emissions by replacing fossil fuel heating and also provide cooling that helps communities cope with extreme heat. Strategically installing heat pumps in vulnerable communities can increase health equity while addressing climate change.
Nature-based solutions can often deliver powerful benefits for mitigation and adaptation. Protecting forests, wetlands, peatlands, and grasslands stores carbon while also buffering floods, cooling temperatures, and reducing storm damage. For instance, one study found that wetlands in the northeastern United States avoided US$625 million in flood damages during Hurricane Sandy.
To make up for lost time on climate action, we must prioritize solutions that do both mitigation and adaptation. Strategies that reduce emissions while increasing resilience can widen our path toward a stable, more prosperous future.

Those of us who work in and think about climate change often act as if we’re at a crossroads.

Down one path is climate mitigation, including all the technologies and practices that must be rapidly implemented and scaled to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Down the other path is climate adaptation, the critical work of building more resilient physical and social infrastructures to withstand the hazards of extreme weather events on our warming planet. But here’s what people in climate often overlook: In many cases, adaptation and mitigation are the same path.

In the Drawdown Explorer, where applicable, we describe the climate adaptation benefits of each highly recommended solution based on how they can increase resilience to heat stress, wildfires, sea-level rise, extreme weather events, floods, and droughts. Solutions across sectors, from buildings to electricity to nature-based carbon removal, present opportunities to both mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen communities’ adaptation.

Take heat pumps, for instance. Electric heat pumps can heat buildings much more efficiently, dramatically reducing emissions compared to fossil fuel boilers. They can also double as air conditioners, moving heat out of buildings in warmer months, providing adaptation benefits that reduce heat stress.

Moreover, since exposure to extreme heat is disproportionately high for minority and urban communities, access to cooling from heat pumps not only increases resilience to heat stress but may also improve health equity. By incorporating solutions like heat pumps into climate plans, cities like Vancouver are simultaneously protecting their most vulnerable residents and reducing emissions.

Some of the clearest examples of mitigation meeting adaptation can be found in nature-based solutions that protect landscapes while increasing biodiversity and strengthening the ecosystem services they provide to surrounding communities. These ecosystem services, which can include storm surge protection, localized cooling, and flood and drought buffering, ultimately increase those communities’ resilience to climate change impacts.

Nature-based solutions that protect ecosystems avoid emissions associated with ecosystem degradation and preserve carbon stored underground. But they can also do so much more. Wetlands, for instance, also provide a buffer from waves and storm surge, protecting coastal communities from the effects of extreme weather events. One analysis found that wetlands in the northeastern United States avoided US$625 million in flood damages during Hurricane Sandy.

Similarly, forests can regulate local climate and weather patterns and can reduce daytime temperature extremes. One study found that, on average, daytime temperatures were 4.1ºC (~7°F) cooler inside forests than in nearby ecosystems with less forest cover. Other ecosystems, such as peatlands and grasslands, can provide flood protection to nearby communities during periods of excessive rain.

On the mitigation side, these nature-based solutions provide immediate climate mitigation benefits. The protection of forests, wetlands, peatlands, and grasslands is an emergency brake climate solution, meaning it works quickly to reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and prevent large pulses of carbon dioxide caused by the clearing of these landscapes. This fast-acting mitigation potential, combined with their adaptive benefits, means these solutions should be foundational for climate action in the places where they can be implemented.

Decades of insufficient climate action have narrowed each pathway, that toward mitigation and toward adaptation. To make up for that lost time, those of us working in climate must prioritize solutions that allow us to walk both paths simultaneously. Communities need solutions that reduce emissions while also protecting human well-being, livelihoods, and economies, today and into the future. Climate mitigation does not need to come at the cost of climate adaptation. We have solutions that can deliver meaningful adaptation benefits alongside emissions reductions. By focusing on solutions that do both, the pathway toward a safe, prosperous future becomes wider for us all.

Ruthie Burrows, Ph.D., is a population-environment researcher with interdisciplinary experience in geography, demography, and epidemiology. At Project Drawdown, she focuses on developing methods to integrate demographic data into climate solutions analyses.

This work was published under a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. You are welcome to republish it following the license terms.