| Foreword
Climate change is a major global issue of common concern to the international community. It is an issue involving both environment and development, but it is ultimately an issue of development. As noted by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (hereinafter referred to as UNFCCC), the largest share of historical and current global emissions of greenhouse gases has originated from developed countries, while per capita emissions in developing countries are still relatively low and the share of global emissions originating from developing countries will grow to meet their social and development needs. The UNFCCC stipulates clearly that the Parties to the Convention shall protect the climate system for the benefit of present and future generations of humankind, on the basis of equity and in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, and accordingly, the developed country Parties shall take the lead in combating climate change and the adverse effects thereof. It further provides that all Parties shall formulate, implement, publish and regularly update national programs to address climate change.
As a developing country of responsibility, China attaches great importance to the issue of climate change. The National Coordination Committee on Climate Change was established, and a series of policies and measures to address climate change have been taken in the overall context of national sustainable development strategy, making positive contributions to the mitigation of and adaptation to climate change. As it is mandated under the UNFCCC, the Chinese Government hereby formulates China's National Climate Change Program (hereinafter referred to as the CNCCP), outlining objectives, basic principles, key areas of actions, as well as policies and measures to address climate change for the period up to 2010. Guided by the Scientific Outlook on Development, China will sincerely carry out all the tasks in the CNCCP, strive to build a resource conservative and environmentally friendly society, enhance national capacity to mitigate and adapt to climate change, and make further contribution to the protection of the global climate system.
Article 4, Paragraph 7 of the UNFCCC provides that "the extent to which developing country Parties will effectively implement their commitments under the Convention will depend on the effective implementation by developed country Parties of their commitments under the Convention related to financial resources and transfer of technology and will take fully into account that economic and social development and poverty eradication are the first and overriding priorities of the developing country Parties." In this connection, while maintaining economic and social development, China will vigorously engage in effective and pragmatic cooperation with the international community as well as individual countries to implement this CNCCP. 1
(1) In case of any discrepancy between the English translation and the Chinese original, the latter shall prevail.
Part 1 Climate Change and Corresponding Efforts in China
Many observations in recent 100 years show that the earth's climate is now experiencing significant change characterized by global warming. And the trend of climate change in China is generally consistent with that of global climate change. To address climate change and promote sustainable development, China has carried out various policies and measures, such as economic restructuring, energy efficiency improvement, development and utilization of hydropower and other renewable energy, ecological restoration and protection, as well as family planning, which has contributed significantly to the mitigation of climate change.
1.1 Observations and Trend of Climate Change in China
The Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has clearly indicated that most of the global warming observed over the past 50 years was likely induced by the increase in concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs), such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O), due to human activities. In the context of global warming, climate in China has experienced noticeable changes over the past 100 years as well. The major observed evidence of climate change in China includes the following:
-Temperature. Annual average air temperature in China has increased by 0.5-0.8ºC during the past 100 years, which was slightly larger than the average global temperature rise. Most of the temperature rise was observed over the last 50 years. The regional distribution of the temperature changes shows that the warming trend was more significant in western, eastern and northern China than in the south of the Yangtze River. The seasonal distribution of the temperature changes shows that the most significant temperature increase occurred in winter, and 20 consecutive warm winters were observed nationwide from 1986 to 2005;
-Precipitation. In the past 100 years, there was no obvious trend of change in annual precipitation in China, but there exists considerable variation among regions. The annual precipitation decreased gradually since the 1950s with an average rate of 2.9 mm/10a, although it increased slightly during the period of 1991-2000. The regional distribution of precipitation shows that the decrease in annual precipitation was significant in most of northern China, eastern part of the northwest, and northeastern China, averaging 20-40 mm/10a, with decrease in northern China being most severe; while precipitation significantly increased in southern China and southwestern China, averaging 20-60 mm/10a;
-Extreme climate/weather events. The frequency and intensity of extreme climate/weather events throughout China have experienced obvious changes during the last 50 years. Drought in northern and northeastern China, and flood in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and southeastern China have become more severe. The annual precipitation in most years since 1990 has been larger than normal, with the precipitation pattern being a dipole, corresponding to frequent disasters in the North and flood in the South;
-Sea level. The rate of sea level rise along China's coasts during the past 50 years was 2.5 mm/a, slightly higher than the global average;
-Glaciers. The mountain glaciers in China have retreated, and the trend is accelerating.
The trend of climate warming in China will further intensify in the future. The projections by Chinese scientists indicate that:
-The nationwide annual mean air temperature would increase by 1.3-2.1ºC in 2020 and 2.3-3.3ºC in 2050 as compared with that in 2000. The warming magnitude would increase from south to north in China, particularly in northwestern and northeastern China where significant temperature rise is projected. It is estimated that by 2030, the annual temperature would likely increase by 1.9-2.3ºC in northwestern China, 1.6-2.0ºC in southwestern China, and 2.2-2.6ºC in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau;
-Precipitation in China would possibly increase during the next 50 years, with a projected nationwide increase of 2-3 percent by 2020 and 5-7 percent by 2050. The most significant increase might be experienced in southeastern coastal regions;
-The possibility of more frequent occurrence of extreme weather/climate events would increase in China, which will have immense impacts on the socio-economic development and people's living;
-The arid area in China would probably become larger and the risk of desertification might increase;
-The sea level along China's coasts would continue to rise;
-The glaciers in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Tianshan Mountains would retreat at an accelerated rate, and some smaller glaciers would disappear.
1.2 Current GHG Emissions in China
According to the Initial National Communication on Climate Change of the People's Republic of China, China's total GHG emissions in 1994 are 4.06 billion tons of CO2 equivalent (3.65 billion tons of net emissions), of which 3.07 billion tons of CO2, 730 million tons of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e) of CH4 and 260 million tCO2e of N2O. According to tentative estimates by experts from China, China's total GHG emission in 2004 is about 6.1 billion tCO2e (5.6 billion tons of net emissions), of which 5.07 billion tons of CO2, 720 million tCO2e of CH4 and 330 million tCO2e of N2O. From 1994 to 2004, the annual average growth rate of GHG emissions is around 4 percent, and the share of CO2 in total GHG emissions increased from 76 percent to 83 percent.
China's historical GHG emissions are very low and per capita emissions have been below the world average. According to the study carried out by the World Resource Institute (WRI), China's CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion were 79 Mt in 1950, contributing to only 1.13 percent of the world total at that time; cumulative emissions of CO2 from fossil fuel combustion accounted for only 9.33 percent of the world total during the period of 1950-2002, and the cumulative CO2 emissions per capita are 61.7 tons over the same period, ranking 92nd in the world. Statistics from the International Energy Agency (IEA) indicate that per capita CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion were 3.65 tons in 2004 in China, equivalent to only 87 percent of the world average and 33 percent of the level in Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) countries.
Along with the steady social and economic development, the emission intensity defined as the CO2 emission per unit of GDP declined generally. According to IEA, China's emission intensity falls to 2.76 kgCO2/US$ (constant 2000 price) in 2004, as compared to 5.47 kgCO2/US$ in 1990, a 49.5 percent decrease. For the same period, emission intensity of the world average dropped only 12.6 percent and that of the OECD countries dropped 16.1 percent.
1.3 China's Efforts and Achievements in Mitigating Climate Change
As a developing country of responsibility, China is among the first to formulate a national Agenda 21 entitled China's Agenda 21-White Paper on China's Population, Environment and Development in the 21st Century, soon after the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992, and adopted a series of policies and measures taking into account its specific national circumstances, making positive contribution to the mitigation of climate change.
1.3.1 Restructuring the economy, promoting technology advancement and improving energy efficiency
Beginning from the late 1980s, the Chinese Government paid more and more attention to the change of the economic growth pattern and the restructuring of economy, and integrated the reduction of energy and other resources consumption, the promotion of clean production, and the prevention and control of industrial pollution into its national industrial policies. The industrial structure has been significantly improved through the implementation of a series of industrial policies to accelerate the development of the tertiary industry and restructure the secondary industry. The breakdown of GDP across the primary, secondary and tertiary industries in 1990 was 26.9:41.3:31.8, while in 2005 it was 12.6:47.5:39.9. The share of primary industry declined continuously, and the tertiary grew greatly, especially in sectors such as telecommunication, tourism and finance. The secondary industry has slightly grown in the overall share, but its internal composition has significantly changed, and the proportion of high value-added products has increased due to the rapid development in machinery, information technology and electronic sectors. Such change has brought about significant energy conservation benefits. During the period of 1991-2005, China has achieved an annual GDP growth rate of 10.2 percent with an annual growth rate of 5.6 percent in energy consumption, i.e. with elastic coefficient of energy consumption of about 0.55.
As early as the 1980s, the Chinese Government adopted the principle of "equal treatment to development and conservation with immediate emphasis on the latter," making energy conservation as a matter of strategic importance in energy policy. Energy conservation was effectively promoted through the implementation of the Law on Energy Conservation of the People's Republic of China and relevant regulations, the development of specific energy conservation plans, the adoption and implementation of technology, economic, fiscal and management policies in favor of energy conservation, the development and application of energy efficiency standards and labeling, the encouragement of R&D, demonstration and diffusion of energy-saving technologies, the importing and absorbing of advanced energy-saving technologies, the creation and employment of new energy conservation mechanisms, and the promotion of key energy conservation projects as well. From 1990 to 2005, China's energy intensity (energy consumption per million GDP at constant prices of 2000) went down from 268 to 143 tons of coal equivalent (tce), decreasing by an average annual rate of 4.1 percent. The energy consumption per unit of energy-intensive products in the industrial sector declined strikingly. In 2004, as compared with 1990, for generators with capacity of 6MW and above, the unit energy consumption for thermal power supply decreased from 0.427 kgce/kWh to 0.376 kgce/kWh; comparable energy consumption per ton of steel in key companies decreased from 997 kgce to 702 kgce; and comprehensive energy consumption per ton of cement in medium and large enterprises decreased from 201 kgce to 157 kgce. As calculated on the year by year comparison, during the period of 1991-2005, an accumulated 800 million tce of energy was saved by economy restructuring and energy efficiency improvement, which is equivalent to a reduction of 1.8 billion tons of CO2 emissions, using China's 1994 emission factor of 2.277 tCO2/tce.
1.3.2 Optimizing energy mix by developing low-carbon and renewable energy
Under national policy guidance and with financial support, the share of high grade and clean energy was improved by strengthening the development and utilization of hydropower, nuclear energy, oil, gas and coal-bed methane, and supporting the development and utilization of new and renewable energy including biomass, solar, geothermal and wind power in rural areas, remote areas and other suitable areas. Share of coal in China's primary energy mix decreased from 76.2 percent in 1990 to 68.9 percent in 2005, whereas the shares of oil, gas and hydro power increased from 16.6 percent, 2.1 percent and 5.1 percent in 1990 to 21 percent, 2.9 percent and 7.2 percent in 2005, respectively.
By the end of 2005, the installed capacity of hydropower generation had reached 117GW in China, accounting for 23 percent of the total power generation capacity, and the corresponding power generation was 401 billion kwh, accounting for 16.2 percent of total electricity generation. There were more than 17 million household biogas digesters that
|
