Nation plays key role in climate change debate
When the United States walked away from the Paris agreement on climate change last year, it left China as the most significant player in the debate.
Jiang Tong, lead author of the Chinese study and a researcher with the National Climate Centre at the China Meteorological Administration in Beijing, said, "Drought losses have significantly increased in recent years across the globe."
The Paris agreement proposes to keep the global mean temperature increase to well below 2 C above preindustrial levels, and to pursue efforts to limit warming to 1.5 C, to reduce the related risk and impacts.
One area the Chinese government has focused on has been the metals and mining sector, including steel mills, aluminum and copper smelters. In July, it published a three-year "blue sky defense" action plan aimed at improving the country's air quality.
Liu Sifang, a senior consultant with global energy group Wood Mackenzie, said, "The government is attaching increasing importance to environmental protection."
Inspection groups have been sent to different regions to ensure industries are meeting the requirements to reduce pollution, he said, adding, "More important, stricter regulations have been introduced."
Liu said every major city in China has been assigned targets to reduce pollution-regardless of the source.
A group of leading scientists from China and the United Kingdom launched a groundbreaking report in London on Oct 17 to show potential worst-case risks of climate change and to encourage politicians to increase mitigation efforts.
The 150-page report is the first to highlight some "disturbing scenarios" of the impact of climate change.
