China's Policies and Actions for Addressing Climate Change

II. Adapting to Climate Change

During the 11th Five-Year Plan period, China strengthened scientific research in and impact evaluation of climate change, improved relevant laws and policies, and enhanced the capability of key sectors to adapt to climate change, so as to reduce the negative impact of climate change on economic and social development and people's lives.

1. Agriculture

China strives to consolidate farmland and water conservancy infrastructure, raise the overall production capacity of agriculture, encourage large-scale construction of standard farmland with stable yields despite drought or flood, support major irrigation areas to continue building supporting and big irrigation and drainage pump stations, expand the irrigation area, improve the irrigation efficiency and spread water-conservation technology, and carry out agricultural water pricing reform and pilot water-conservation renovations of farmland ditches, and enhance the nation's capacity to resist disasters. It has built and improved agricultural meteorological monitoring and early-warning systems. China also carries out research into and cultivates stress-resistant varieties of seeds with high yield potential and high quality and resistance to drought, waterlogging, high temperature, diseases and pests, and expands the growing areas of super strains of crops. It has further increased subsidies for superior strains of crops, and accelerated integration of the cultivation, reproduction and spreading of such superior strains. Currently, more than 95 percent of the farmland nationwide is sown with superior strains of major crops, which contributes 40 percent to the grain output increase.

2. Water Resources

China has formulated National Comprehensive Plan for Water Resources, Seven Major River Basins' Flood Control Plan, National Mountain Torrent Disaster Prevention and Control Plan, National Plan to Guarantee the Safe Supply of Drinking Water to Urban Dwellers, and National Plan for the Eco-protection of Major Rivers and Lakes. It has strengthened river basin management and water resources allocation, and organized and implemented the work of diverting water from the Yellow River to Tianjin and Hebei Province, from the Qiantang River to Lake Taihu at time of urgent need, and ecological water re-charge to the Heihe and Tarim rivers. It has quickened the implementation of the strictest water resources control, and improved the policy system concerning the development, utilization, conservation and protection of water resources. It has started constructing a batch of water-shed flood control projects, while accelerating the pace of some key water conservancy projects and major water resource projects. It has tightened soil erosion control, and has completed the comprehensive improvement of 230,000 sq km of land suffering from water and soil erosion. It has completed the reinforcement of large and medium-sized reservoirs as well as key small ones in danger. More efforts have been made to guarantee the safe supply of drinking water to 210 million rural residents, meeting the relevant target set in the UN Millennium Development Goals six years in advance.

3. Marine Resources

China has strengthened the construction of a marine meteorological observation network. With such a network in place, the country has been able to observe the key climate factors in its offshore regions and some oceans, and basically built up a typical monitoring system in the eco-sensitive marine areas, thereby effectively enhancing its ability to monitor the sea-air carbon dioxide exchange flux. China has started redefining the national and provincial marine functional zoning, has started marine ecosystem restoration projects in the coastal areas and on key islands, and launched eco-restoration demonstration projects such as cultivating and replanting mangroves, protecting coral reefs by way of relocation, and returning coastal wetlands to beaches. The observation and early warning work related to storm surge, sea wave, tsunami, sea ice and other marine disasters have effectively reduced the casualties and property losses caused by such marine disasters. Observation, investigation and evaluation have been conducted of sea level rise, coastal erosion, seawater intrusion and saline tide, and the datum tide marks of 94 tidal gauging stations have been re-verified. Through comprehensive offshore investigation and evaluation, it has obtained systematic knowledge of the distribution, both spatially and temporally, of marine disasters. In addition, annual gazettes have been released on marine conditions, sea levels and marine disasters to provide information for preventing and combating various marine disasters.

4. Public Health

China has worked out and promulgated the National Health Emergency Response Plan against Natural Disasters (Trial) which has clearly defined the health-related goals and principles in case of floods and droughts, meteorological and biological disasters, and other natural disasters, established the natural disaster emergency response work system, the levels and measures of such response, and formulated emergency response work plans against different types of natural disasters. The Emergency Response Plan against High-temperature Heat-stroke (Trial) and National Environment and Health Action Plan (2007-2015) have also been enacted. Researches have been carried out in the monitoring of the quality of drinking water, the impact of air pollution on health, infectious diseases caused by climatic factors, the impacts of climate change on vector-borne parasitic diseases and water-borne communicable diseases, and other diseases caused by impacts of climate change on environment, so as to provide technical support for the formulation of policies and measures to adapt to climate change.

5. Meteorology

The meteorological departments have released and implemented the Weather Research Plan (2009-2014), Climate Research Plan (2009-2014), Applied Meteorology Research Plan (2009-2014) and Comprehensive Meteorological Observation Research Plan (2009-2014), and distributed the China Implementation Plan of the Climate Observation Systems, in an effort to promote the observation, pre-evaluation and evaluation of climate change. China has set up the first-generation operational system based on a dynamical climate model for short-term climate prediction, developed the new-generation dynamical climate model system, and conducted various evaluations regarding the impact of climate change on the safety of national grain supply, water supply, ecology and human health.

III. Enhancing Basic Capability

To build up its basic capability in this regard, during the 11th Five-Year Plan period China continued to improve relevant legislation, management system and working mechanism for addressing concerning climate change, strengthened statistical and calculation research and institutional construction, raised the level of scientific research and policy study, and further strengthened relevant education and training.

1. Formulating Relevant Laws and Regulations and Important Policies

Improving relevant laws and regulations. China has formulated or amended the Renewable Energy Law, Circular Economy Promotion Law, Energy Conservation Law, Clean Production Promotion Law, Water and Soil Conservation Law and Islands Protection Law, promulgated the Regulations on Civil Buildings Energy Conservation, Regulations on Public Organizations Energy Conservation and Regulations on Drought Control, and issued the Interim Measures for Energy Conservation Evaluation and Review of Fixed Assets Investment, Measures for Energy Conservation Supervision of High-Energy-Consuming Special Equipment and Interim Measures for Supervision of Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction of National Enterprises. It has also conducted pre-legislation study on climate change.

Formulating and implementing China's National Climate Change Program. This Program defines the guiding principles, main fields and key tasks concerning the work of addressing climate change. As required by this document, 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government have all worked out their own programs to address climate change, and have put them into practice. The work to address climate change has been gradually incorporated into the plans of economic and social development of each locality, and placed on the priority agendas of local governments. Relevant departments have also worked out action plans and working programs in such fields as marine resources, meteorology and environmental protection.

Promulgating a series of important policy documents. China has promulgated the Mid- and Long-term Plan for the Development of Renewable Energy, Mid- and Long-term Plan for the Development of Nuclear Energy, the 11th Five-Year Plan for Renewable Energy Development, Decision on Energy Conservation Work, Opinions on Accelerating the Development of Circular Economy and other important documents. The Comprehensive Working Plan for Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction in the 11th Five-Year Plan Period, released in 2007, stated the goals, key fields, and policy measures regarding energy conservation and emission reduction, and played a significant role in promoting energy conservation and emission reduction work in the period 2006-2010.

2. Improving Management Systems and Working Mechanism

China has built and constantly improved its management system and working mechanism to address climate change, which features the unified leadership of the National Leading Group to Address Climate Change, administration by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), division of work with separate responsibilities among relevant departments and wide participation of various localities and industries. In 2007, the National Leading Group to Address Climate Change was set up, with premier of the State Council as its head and 20 ministers as its members. The NDRC was assigned the specific work by the leading group, and in 2008 the NDRC set up a department to coordinate and supervise the relevant work. Following that, relevant government departments established functional organs and working mechanisms to address climate change work in their own fields. To coordinate the inter-ministry work, a liaison office was set up within the framework of the National Leading Group to Address Climate Change in 2010, and the National Panel on Climate Change was adjusted and strengthened to ensure scientific decision-making. All provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government have established their own leading groups and working organs to address climate change, and some sub-provincial or prefectural cities have also set up offices to address climate change. Relevant departments under the State Council have founded supportive organs such as the National Center for Climate Strategy and International Cooperation of China, and the Research Center for Climate Change, and some universities and scientific institutions have opened their own climate change research organizations.

3. Enhancing Statistical and Accounting Capabilities

Improving energy and related statistical systems. China has issued the Implementation Plan and Methods for Statistical Monitoring and Reviewing of Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction, further improved the energy-consumption accounting calculation system, and worked out ten new energy statistical systems, which basically cover energy consumption by all sectors of society. The various localities have improved their energy statistical setups and personnel placement to spur statistical work in this field. All provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government have set up energy statistics organizations, and key energy consumption units have boosted their energy statistical and accounting work. A reporting system has been in place for key energy consumption units to report their energy utilization, and standardize their submission of such reports. Technical guidance for forest carbon sink metering and monitoring has been formulated to promote the construction of such metering and monitoring systems.

Reinforcing greenhouse gas emission accounting. In the wake of its submission of the Initial National Communication on Climate Change of the People's Republic of China to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at the tenth session of the Conference of the Parties in 2004, China organized the compilation of a greenhouse gas emission list and the second national communication report in 2005. It has built a national databank of greenhouse gas lists, issued the Guidance for Compiling Provincial Greenhouse Gas Emission Lists (Trial), and started the compilation work at provincial level and held a series of training courses in this regard.

4. Fueling Support from Scientific and Policy Research

Augmenting fundamental research. China has compiled its first and second National Evaluation Reports on Climate Change. It has conducted research into the relations between climatic change and environment quality, coordinated control of greenhouse gas and pollutants, climate change and the water cycle mechanism, and climate change and forestry response measures. It has built a data set on climate change trend, and released a data set on Asian climate change prediction. It has opened several special laboratories in sea-air interaction and climate change, and has conducted large amounts of work in fundamental research.

Promoting climate-friendly technological R&D. With the support of the National Hi-tech R&D Program ("863 Program") and the National Key Technologies R&D Program, China has started R&D into clean and efficient utilization of energies, energy-saving technology and equipment in certain key industries, key energy-saving technology and materials for buildings, key technology and equipment of clean production for key industries, and pattern of a low-carbon economic development and integrated application of key technologies, and has made significant progress with a number of invention patents of its own intellectual property rights. China also pushes forward the R&D of technology for the development and application of renewable and new energies, and key technology for the smart grids. It has made evaluations of the practice of using greenhouse gas as a resource to enhance the petroleum recovery ratio, and of the capacity of underground storage and storage of carbon dioxide in underground saline water, and has carried out R&D in the preparation and sifting of new, safe and efficient absorption materials. Included in the National Key Technologies R&D Program through the 11th Five-Year Plan are special programs to study the impacts caused by and adaption to climate change and corresponding key technologies to address them, and to demonstrate the technologies used to adapt to climate change in typical fragile zones. In terms of carbon emission monitoring, China has begun its research in Orbiting Carbon Observatory. With the support of the "863 Program" and the National Key Technologies R&D Program, China has started to research in and demonstrate carbon capture and emission reduction technologies applied in major agricultural and forestry ecosystems, and key technologies in forestry eco-construction, and research into the technologies for monitoring, early warning and addressing major agriculture-related climatic disasters. It has carried out evaluation and applied research into technologies of energy conservation and emission reduction for key industries, which is a project of the National Key Technologies R&D Program. By 2010, the country had built 288 state engineering research (technological) centers and 91 state engineering laboratories.

Strengthening strategy and policy study. Centering on the major tasks in addressing climate change during the 12th Five-Year Plan period, China is studying a long-term strategy to cope with the issue of climate change, a strategy of low-carbon development, and a national overall strategy to address climate change and carbon trading mechanism, as well as relevant laws and regulations at home and abroad related to climate change. It has started a special scientific action, with a total investment of 110 million yuan, to deal with climate change, and begun studying major strategies and technical issues to promote its own green development.

5. Strengthening Education and Training

Gradually including climate change into the national education system. Education on environmental protection and climate change has been given more attention in secondary schools and universities, and relevant courses, teaching and research bases have been set up. All these have played an important role in fostering professionals in this regard.

More training on climate change for officials. Collective studies, lectures and reports have been organized to help officials enhance their awareness of climate change and scientific management. The training classes organized by relevant departments under the central government cover such subjects as climate change, sustainable development and environmental management, capability building of provincial decision-makers in charge of climate change work, capability building of local officials in charge of clean development mechanism, climate-change-adaptation capability building, and capability building of provincial greenhouse gas lists compilation. Local governments have also organized various training courses on climate change.

IV. Participation of the Whole Society

China proactively publicizes relevant scientific knowledge in addressing climate change, enhances public awareness of low-carbon development, gives full play to the initiatives of non-governmental organizations, the media and other outlets, and uses various channels and measures to guide the whole society to participate in actions addressing climate change.

1. Proactive Government Guidance

Since 2008, China has published an annual report titled "China's Policies and Actions for Addressing Climate Change" to give comprehensive introductions to China's policies and progress in addressing climate change. It organizes an "energy-saving publicity week" every year to publicize knowledge of energy conservation and emission reduction, and knowledge of climate change among the people. It also proactively popularizes the scientific knowledge of climate change on World Environment Day, World Meteorological Day, the Earth Day, World Oceans Day, World Car-free Day, National Day of Disaster Prevention and Reduction, National Day of Science Popularization and other theme days. The local governments of Beijing, Tianjin, Guiyang and other cities have held large international seminars, forums and exhibitions on climate change, energy conservation and environmental protection to enhance exchanges on low-carbon development with other countries and public awareness on addressing climate change, energy conservation and low-carbon development. The government also has given full play to the roles of newspapers, radios, televisions, magazines and other traditional media as well as the Internet, mobile phones and other new media to strengthen publicity and education on addressing climate change, energy conservation and low-carbon development.

2. Proactive Actions by Non-governmental Organizations

The China Society of Territorial Economics has opened low-carbon territory experimental areas, the All-China Environment Federation and China Tourism Association have carried out the nation's first low-carbon tourism experiments at 48 tourist resorts, and the China Iron and Steel Industry Association and All-China Federation of Trade Unions have organized benchmarking contests on energy conservation and consumption of large-scale energy-consuming steel production equipment. The China Energy Conservation Association and other organizations have held summit media forums on climate change and low-carbon economic development. The China National Coal Association, China Nonferrous Metals Association, China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Association, China Building Materials Federation, China Electricity Council and other organizations have also played important roles in the planning of industry energy conservation, formulation and implementation of energy conservation standards, promotion of energy conservation technology, energy consumption statistics, and energy conservation publicity and training, information and inquiry, and related areas. Some non-profit organizations have also held publicity and education campaigns to boost public awareness on addressing climate change.`

3. Vigorous Media Publicity

The Chinese media organs constantly strengthen publicity and news coverage on climate change, energy conservation and low-carbon development. The media have compiled and published a series of introductory and publicity picture books on climate change and the prevention of meteorological disasters, produced films and TV series, including Facing Climate Change, Warming Earth, Focusing on Climate Change, and Same Hot, Same Cool, the World Over, actively introducing China's policies, actions and achievements in addressing climate change, advocating a low-carbon lifestyle, increasing the public's knowledge and understanding of climate change and presenting China's efforts and achievements in combating climate change.

4. Public Participation

The Chinese public proactively responds to climate change with action: taking their own shopping bags, using both sides of paper, limiting the temperature of air-conditioners, refusing to use disposable chopsticks, purchasing energy-saving products, choosing low-carbon means of transport, preferring low-carbon food, leading low-carbon lifestyles and practicing low-carbon life and consumption in every aspect of daily life, including clothing, food, residence and travel. People all around China actively participate in the Earth Hour program and turn off their lights on the last Saturday of March each year to express their mutual aspiration for the protection of the global climate. The 1,000-youth environment-friendly ambassador program and other activities are held to publicize the concept of environmental protection, advocate a low-carbon lifestyle and practice green consumption at state organs, schools, communities, barracks, enterprises, parks and public squares. In some big and medium-sized cities, a low-carbon life has become a trend sought after by people who pursue a simple and low-carbon lifestyle. Shanghai, Chongqing, Tianjin and other cities have carried out the "Cool China -- National Low-carbon Action" to survey and analyze family carbon emissions. Harbin and other cities have initiated energy-saving and emission-reduction programs in communities, mobilizing families, schools, businesses and services, and state organs in communities to take part in energy conservation and emission reduction. Universities, high schools and primary schools all around the country have actively publicized the low-carbon lifestyle and environmental protection, and the goal of building a "green campus" set by some universities has aroused wide-spread attention.