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Climate change in China
Climate change is having major effects on the Chinese economy, society and the environment. The People's Republic of China is the world's largest emitter of carbon dioxide, through an energy infrastructure heavily focused on coal. China's per capita emissions are greater than the world and European Union averages but less than Australia, Canada, and the U.S. China recorded its hottest year on record in 2024, with an average temperature of 10.92 °C (51.66 °F). On the basis of cumulative CO2 emissions measured from 1751 through to 2017, China is responsible for 13% of global and about half of the United States' cumulative emissions. According to the Carbon Majors Database, Chinese state coal production alone accounts for 14% of historical global emissions.
A burgeoning construction industry and industrial manufacturing contribute heavily to carbon emissions. It has also been noted that higher-income countries have outsourced emissions-intensive industries to China.
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's government is taking some measures to increase renewable energy, and other decarbonization efforts, vowing to hit peak emissions before 2030 and be carbon neutral by 2060 by adopting "more vigorous policies and measures." In 2022, China's GHG emissions were expected to peak in 2025 and return to 2022 levels by 2030. However, such a pathway will still lead to a 3 degrees Celsius temperature rise.
The total greenhouse gas emissions of the People's Republic of China are the world's highest, accounted for 35% of the world's total, in 2023, according to the International Energy Agency.
The natural environment of China faces risks from climate change in the form of heat waves, more severe and frequent storms, droughts, floods, and sea level rise. The summer of 2022 saw a heat wave lasting more than nine weeks, flooding in the Pearl River Basin, and drought so severe that certain areas of the Yangtze river were lower than ever recorded before. Between 1980 and 2012, sea levels off the coast of eastern China rose 3.5 inches (9.3 centimeters).
There has also been an increased occurrence of climate-related disasters such as drought and flood, and the amplitude is growing. These events have grave consequences for productivity when they occur, and also create serious repercussions for the natural environment and infrastructure. This threatens the lives of billions and aggravates poverty.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) convened in 2012, China has prioritized its response to climate change.
A study published in 2017, using continuous and coherent severe weather reports from over 500 manned stations from 1961 to 2010, found a significant decreasing trend in severe weather occurrence across China, with the total number of severe weather days that have either thunderstorms, hail and/or damaging wind decreasing about 50% from 1961 to 2010. The reduction in severe weather occurrences correlated strongly with the weakening of the East Asian summer monsoon.
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Climate change in China
Climate change is having major effects on the Chinese economy, society and the environment. The People's Republic of China is the world's largest emitter of carbon dioxide, through an energy infrastructure heavily focused on coal. China's per capita emissions are greater than the world and European Union averages but less than Australia, Canada, and the U.S. China recorded its hottest year on record in 2024, with an average temperature of 10.92 °C (51.66 °F). On the basis of cumulative CO2 emissions measured from 1751 through to 2017, China is responsible for 13% of global and about half of the United States' cumulative emissions. According to the Carbon Majors Database, Chinese state coal production alone accounts for 14% of historical global emissions.
A burgeoning construction industry and industrial manufacturing contribute heavily to carbon emissions. It has also been noted that higher-income countries have outsourced emissions-intensive industries to China.
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's government is taking some measures to increase renewable energy, and other decarbonization efforts, vowing to hit peak emissions before 2030 and be carbon neutral by 2060 by adopting "more vigorous policies and measures." In 2022, China's GHG emissions were expected to peak in 2025 and return to 2022 levels by 2030. However, such a pathway will still lead to a 3 degrees Celsius temperature rise.
The total greenhouse gas emissions of the People's Republic of China are the world's highest, accounted for 35% of the world's total, in 2023, according to the International Energy Agency.
The natural environment of China faces risks from climate change in the form of heat waves, more severe and frequent storms, droughts, floods, and sea level rise. The summer of 2022 saw a heat wave lasting more than nine weeks, flooding in the Pearl River Basin, and drought so severe that certain areas of the Yangtze river were lower than ever recorded before. Between 1980 and 2012, sea levels off the coast of eastern China rose 3.5 inches (9.3 centimeters).
There has also been an increased occurrence of climate-related disasters such as drought and flood, and the amplitude is growing. These events have grave consequences for productivity when they occur, and also create serious repercussions for the natural environment and infrastructure. This threatens the lives of billions and aggravates poverty.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) convened in 2012, China has prioritized its response to climate change.
A study published in 2017, using continuous and coherent severe weather reports from over 500 manned stations from 1961 to 2010, found a significant decreasing trend in severe weather occurrence across China, with the total number of severe weather days that have either thunderstorms, hail and/or damaging wind decreasing about 50% from 1961 to 2010. The reduction in severe weather occurrences correlated strongly with the weakening of the East Asian summer monsoon.