Information on Impacts of Climate Change and Adaptation in China

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Climate change adaptation in China faces dual challenges: the development demand and its increasing pressure. In recent years, China has made great efforts in climate change impact assessment, adaptation policy-making, as well as technological research and development. The objective of this paper is to analyze and summarize the achievements and gaps of improving the adaptation strategies. A case study focusing on China is provided as a reference for other developing countries. In China, positive and negative impacts coexist, with the negatives outweighing the positives. Climate change affects mainly seven fields, including agriculture, water resources, coastal zone, ecosystem and biodiversity, urban development, major projects, and human health. A top-down policy system of climate change adaptation in China consists of 117 national and departmental policies, 31 provincial action plans and 21 provincial adaptation plans. There is an increasing number of climate change adaptation policies appearing in China. Identification, classification and key-chain analysis are performed over the adaptation policies, in order to build up the technology system that captures their structure and characteristics. Progress has been made in the development and application of the top 10 adaptation technologies, such as extreme weather event prediction and early warning technology, integrated adaptation technology for human health, as well as technology for the conservation and restoration of typical climate-sensitive ecosystems. However, gaps still exist in the mismatch between adaptation goals and resource management in terms of adaptation policy-making, adaptation mechanism of global changes, and strategic adaptation technology and top-level design.

Sustainable Agriculture Development in Northwest China Under the Impacts of Global Climate Change

“…However, the impacts of climate change on agriculture in Northwest China has not received adequate attention in national and regional studies (12)(13)(14); particularly, a long-term, systematic thinking on adaption of agricultural system to climate change is lacking (15). We argue that climate change needs to be considered as one of the most important variables in agriculture policy making and planning in Northwest China.…”

Implementing Climate Change Adaptation in Territory Spatial Planning Systems: Challenges and Approaches Based on Practices in Guiyang

“…The national plan was composed under an international domestic balance, synchronized mitigation and adaptation, integrated technological and institutional innovation, and incorporated governmental and societal principles. Moreover, the plan set goals for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions limits and carbon footprint limits for unit GDP [11]; together with the net-zero commitment, China's climate change strategy facilitated a quantitative methodology for mitigation. Conversely, the strategy for adaptation only set land use configuration goals in percentage numbers, and the primary adaptation requirements were merely in descriptive text.…”

Systematic review of climate change impact research in Nigeria: implication for sustainable development

“…Likewise, developed countries like Norway, Switzerland, Spain, Canada, United Kingdom, France, China, Finland, and so on, have resorted to more ambitious adaptation plans and policies as part of their developmental plans. In the Netherlands, spatial planning 'climate proof' has been developed, while desalination and water reuse, and resilience agriculture are practiced in the US and China respectively (Dinesh et al, 2017;He, 2017). In the EU, best adaptation practices include integrated river basin management, drought management for vulnerable river basins, soil management and vegetation cover, sustainable (re-)use of water, residential water saving, vertical farming, etc (European Commission, 2021).…”