Climate change in China
[7][8] China is suffering from the negative effects of global warming in agriculture, forestry and water resources, and is expected to continue to see increased impacts.
China has and will suffer some of the effects of global warming, including sea level rise, glacier retreat and air pollution.
[27] Rising sea level is an alarming trend because China has a very long and densely populated coastline, with some of the most economically developed cities such as Shanghai, Tianjin, and Guangzhou situated there.
Chinese research has estimated that a one-meter rise in sea level would inundate 92,000 square kilometers of China's coast, thereby displacing 67 million people.
A major drought in 2001 resulted in China losing 6.4 billion U.S. dollars of crops as well as reducing water supply for “33 million rural people and 22 million livestock.”[35] There may be a big impact on the spatial and temporal distribution in China's water resources, increasing extreme weather events and natural disasters.
[36] According to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report the country that will pay the highest financial cost if the temperature continue to rise is China.
The impacts will include food insecurity, water scarcity, flooding, especially in coastal areas where most of the population lives due to higher than average sea level rise, and more powerful cyclones.
[citation needed] Over the past 70 years, climate change seriously reduced China's food security, mainly by inducing drought and flooding.
China increased its grain self sufficiency by expanding agriculture areas to regions with less rain, giving them water with irrigation systems.
[38] Due to overfishing, pollution, global temperature increase, and change in pH to the world's oceans, the South China Sea is suffering from a lack in biodiversity among marine life.
[30] Historically, China was the world's largest capture fisheries and aquaculture producer, making the fish market a significant part of the Chinese economy.
[41] In March 2022 China increased its fossil fuel production "amid growing fears of global energy shortages and rising concerns of an economic slump".
[56] In the provinces of China, there are various projects held aiming to solve emissions reduction and energy-saving, which is a big step in tackling climate change.
[citation needed] However, in the last 4 decades cars created a strong decline in bicycle use, which led to deterioration of air quality and traffic congestion.
According to the World Resources Institute report, dockless bike-sharing systems reduced China's GHG emissions by 4.8 million tonnes of CO2 annually.
[62] China makes considerable efforts to expand and improve its public transportation network, what creates health benefits and have significant importance for emission reduction.
[70] In 2013, China issued its National Strategy for Climate Change Adaptation and set goals of reducing vulnerability, strengthening monitoring, and raising public awareness.
After facing the 2011 smog issue, China's government launched an extensive strategy, which is to improve air quality by reducing the growth of coal consumption.
Nevertheless, the trade war that involved China as one of the leading participants has resulted in the loss of control of polluting industries, especially in the steel and cement during 2018.
Fortunately, nearly 70 multinational and local brands implemented the monitoring data by The Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs (IPE) in China, stimulating nearly 8,000 suppliers approaching regulatory violations.
[78] According to analysis from the Global Energy Monitor: "China accounts for more than 95 per cent of the coal plant capacity beginning construction in 2023".
The report said that "building new unabated coal power plants must stop to limit global warming to the critical threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius".
[86] These projects seek to blend green technologies and sustainable infrastructure to build large, environmentally friendly cities nationwide.
[91] In 2012, China established its National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation as part of its effort to develop world-class research in this area.
[93] In 2020, Chinese leader Xi Jinping announced at the UN General Assembly in New York that his country will end its contribution to global heating and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 by adopting "more vigorous policies and measures.
[95][96] CCP general secretary Xi Jinping says China will "phase down" coal use from 2026 - and will not build new coal-fired projects abroad - but some governments and campaigners say the plans are not going far enough.
[98] In 2021, at the UN General Assembly, Chinese leader Xi Jinping stated that China will no longer fund coal-fired power plants abroad.
The country is currently undertaking efforts to reduce the threat of these floods (which have the potential effect of completely destroying vulnerable communities), largely focusing on improving the infrastructure responsible for tracking and maintaining adequate water levels.
[104] In November 2024, China's government reported, that after 46 years of work it finished the 3,000 kilometers green belt around the Taklamakan Desert.The part of the country covered by deserts declined from 27.2% in previouse decade to 26.8%.
Organisations connected to the government, such as China Youth Climate Action Network, have also disseminated training and public awareness activities related to the issue.
