Response options
The mitigation of greenhouse gases provides a mechanism for slowing, and perhaps eventually halting, the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. A slowing of the rate of warming could yield important benefits in the form of reduced impacts to human health and other systems; however, the inertia in the climate system means that there will be a significant temporal lag between emission reduction and slowing in the rate of warming.
Adaptation (discussed in chapter 11) is another important response option. Such actions enhance the resilience of vulnerable systems, thereby reducing potential damages from climate change and climate variability.
Communication of information about climate change, its potential health impacts, and response strategies, is itself a public policy response to climate change. So, too, are the development and implementation of monitoring and surveillance systems, and investments in research. Monitoring and surveillance systems are integral and essential to providing the information needed to support decisions by public health officials.