Mitigation means stopping the increasing temperature - moving away from burning fossil fuels, changing our lifestyles, investing in alternative systems and storing carbon, especially in the soil.
Adaptation is about living with our changing climate - designing our settlements to survive increased floods, more extreme storms, higher sea levels - and working out what it means for our natural world.
Maybe this limit of a two degrees temperature increase doesn't sound like much. Would it be so bad if we had a hotter summer? Unfortunately, yes.
Heat waves in Australia already kill elderly people. Our tourist attractions like glaciers are receding and ski seasons are less reliable.
Threatened species like the tuatara are sensitive to temperature with eggs hatched in warmer conditions tending to be male - not so easy to reproduce if all your tuatara are male. Oceans become more acidic as they warm up, affecting coral and shellfish, rippling through the food chain, and rising sea levels means saltwater can get into coastal groundwater supplies, contaminating drinking and irrigation water.
These are serious consequences, so we need to get serious with challenging targets and a clear plan of action.
But there's not a simple tap to turn off and another one to turn on. In New Zealand, we already have a high proportion of our electricity from renewables through hydro-power, but there's still room for improvement.
Transport is a bigger area for gains - at an individual level like choosing to bike or walk, buying a hybrid car (my plan) etc, or at a systems level demanding our councils and government invest in public transport, trains and electric re-charging networks.
The cow-shaped elephant in the room is, of course, agriculture. It is such an influential part of our economy, identity and, unfortunately, carbon emissions profile.
But after attending the Sustainable Business Network awards this week, there is another way to successfully farm, both economically and environmentally. Humans are clever - we can change, and change we must.
There are new ways to live great lives that tread more lightly on the earth - we simply have to. Infinite growth on a finite planet just doesn't make sense.
I watched the movie This Changes Everything, based on Naomi Klein's book, this week and, even with clear and sometimes scary challenges, I feel hope. There is a growing movement of people from all walks of life saying it's time for action - time for change.
Join me this weekend - I'll be one of thousands of people all over New Zealand kicking off global protests and sending a strong message to our leaders prior to the Paris climate talks which start on Monday. We're meeting at the silver ball by the Riverside Market at 12pm to march to Majestic Square.
The simple truth is there is no Planet B. We've got to take better care of this one - it's our only home.
-Nicola Young has worked in the government and private sectors in Australia and NZ and now works from home in Taranaki for a national charitable foundation. Educated at Wanganui Girls' College, she has a science degree and is the mother of two boys.
