The coastal regions in China are characterized by dense population and most active economic activities. Since most of these coastal areas are low and flat, they are vulnerable to marine disasters caused by sea level rise. At present, China clearly lacks capacity in marine environment monitoring, resulting in insufficient capacity of early warning and emergency response to ocean disasters associated with climate change. Lower standards for coastal anti-tide engineering also weaken the ability to resist ocean disasters. In the future, coastal erosion, seawater intrusion, soil salinization and back flow of seawater into the river estuaries caused by sea level rise will be among realistic challenges in coping with climate change in China's coastal areas.

Part 3 Guidelines, Principles and Objectives of China to Address Climate Change

China's social and economic development is now at the stage of important strategic opportunity. China will implement its fundamental national policy of resource conservation and environmental protection to develop a circular economy, protect ecological environment and accelerate the construction of a resource-conservative and environmentally friendly society. In order to actively fulfill its international commitments to the UFCCCC, China will strive to control its greenhouse gas emissions, enhance its capacity to adapt to climate change and promote the harmonious development between economy, population, resources and the environment.

3.1 Guidelines

To address climate change and to make further contributions to protect global climate, China will be guided by the following:

-To give full effect to the Scientific Outlook on Development;

-To promote the construction of socialist harmonious society;

-To advance the fundamental national policy of resource conservation and environmental protection;

-To control GHG emission and enhance sustainable development capacity;

-To secure economic development;

-To conserve energy, optimize energy structure, and strengthen ecological preservation and construction;

-To rely on the advancement of science and technology;

-To enhance the capacity to address climate change.

3.2 Principles

To address climate change, China will be guided by the following principles:

-To address climate change within the framework of sustainable development. It is not only the important common understanding of the international community, but also the basic option of all the parties to the Convention to address climate change. As early as in 1994, the Chinese Government formulated and published its sustainable development strategy-China's Agenda 21 -A White Paper on Population, Environment and Development in the 21st Century. Later in 1996, the Chinese Government, for the first time, adopted sustainable development as the key guideline and strategic goal for its national social and economic development. In 2003, the Chinese Government further formulated the Program of Action for Sustainable Development in China in the Early 21st Century. China will continue to actively tackle climate change issues in accordance with its national sustainable development strategy in the future.

-To follow the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities" of the UNFCCC. According to this principle, developed countries should take the lead in reducing greenhouse gas emissions as well as providing financial and technical support to developing countries. The first and overriding priorities of developing countries are sustainable development and poverty eradication. The extent to which developing countries will effectively implement their commitments under the Convention will depend on the effective implementation by developed country of their basic commitments.

-To place equal emphasis on both mitigation and adaptation. Mitigation and adaptation are integral components of the strategy to cope with climate change. For developing countries, mitigation is a long and arduous challenge while adaptation to climate change is a more present and imminent task. China will strengthen its policy guidance for energy conservation and energy structure optimization to make efforts to control its greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile, China will take practical measures to enhance its capacity to adapt to climate change via key projects for ecosystem protection, disaster prevention and reduction and other key infrastructure construction.

-To integrate climate change policy with other interrelated policies. Since adaptation to climate change and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions involve many aspects of the social and economic sectors, policies to address climate change and other related ones will only be effective if they are integrated. China will continue to consider energy conservation, energy structure optimization, ecological preservation and construction, and overall agricultural productivity advancement as important components of its national climate change policy. Therefore, China will give full consideration to climate change issues by integrating the policy of climate change mitigation and adaptation into its national social and economic development program and pushing forward the policy in a coordinate way.

-To rely on the advancement and innovation of science and technology. Technological advancement and innovation are the effective way to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and enhance the capacity of adaptation to climate change. Realizing the leading and fundamental function of scientific and technological advancement in mitigation and adaptation to climate change, China will make great efforts to develop new and renewable energy technologies and new technologies of energy conservation, to promote carbon sink technologies and other adaptive technologies, to accelerate scientific and technological innovation and importation, and to provide a strong scientific support to address climate change and promote the capacity of sustainable development.

-To participate in international cooperation actively and extensively. Global climate change is a serious common challenge to the international community. Though countries differ in the understanding of climate change and in ways and means of addressing this issue, they share a basic consensus for cooperation and dialogue to jointly address the challenges of climate change. China will continue to actively participate in the international negotiations of the UNFCCC and relevant activities of the IPCC. China is ready to strengthen international cooperation of addressing climate change, including cooperation of clean development mechanism and technology transfer, to join efforts with the international community to tackle global climate change.

3.3 Objectives

The strategic goal of China to respond to climate change is to make significant achievements in controlling greenhouse gas emissions, enhance the capability of continuous adaptation to climate change, promote climate change related science, technology and R&D to a new level, remarkably raise public awareness on climate change, and further strengthen the institutions and mechanisms on climate change. According to this strategic goal, China will make great efforts to achieve the following specific objectives by 2010.

3.3.1 To control greenhouse gas emissions

-Accelerating the transformation of economic growth pattern; strengthening the policy guidance on energy conservation and efficient utilization; reinforcing governmental supervision and administration on energy conservation; expediting R&D, demonstration and deployment of energy conservation technologies; bringing new market-based mechanisms for energy conservation into full play; raising public and social awareness on energy conservation; and speeding up the building-up of a resource-conserving society. By all these means, China will achieve the target of about 20-percent reduction of energy consumption per unit GDP by 2010, and consequently reduce CO2 emissions.

-Optimizing energy consumption structure. Measures in this regard include: vigorously developing renewable energy; actively promoting nuclear power plant construction; and speeding up utilization of coal bed methane. The target is to raise the proportion of renewable energy (including large-scale hydropower) in primary energy supply up to 10 percent by 2010, and the extraction of coal bed methane up to 10 billion cubic meters.

-Reinforcing industrial policy governing metallurgy, building materials and chemical industry; developing a circular economy; raising resource utilization efficiency; and strengthening emission control of nitrous oxide. By 2010, the emissions of nitrous oxide from industrial processes will remain stable as that in 2005.

-Promoting the adoption of low-emission and high-yield rice varieties, the rice cultivation technique of semi-drought, and scientific irrigation technology; strengthening the R&D on outstanding ruminant animal breeds and large-scale breeding and management techniques; reinforcing the management on animal wastes, wastewater and solid wastes; and promoting biogas utilization to control the growth rate of methane emissions.

-Increasing the forest coverage rate to 20 percent and realizing the increase of carbon sink by 50 million tons over the level of 2005 by 2010. Measures in this regard include: continuously carrying out the policies and measures on afforestation, returning farmland to forest and grassland, natural forest protection, and basic construction for farmland and other key engineering construction.

3.3.2 To enhance capacity of adaptation to climate change

-Through strengthening farmland infrastructure, adjusting cropping systems, selecting and breeding stress-resistant varieties and developing bio-technologies and other adaptive countermeasures, the targets by 2010 are to increase the improved grassland by 24 million hectares, restore the grassland suffering from degradation, desertification, and salinity by 52 million hectares, and strive to increase the efficient utilization coefficient of agricultural irrigation water to 0.5.

-Through strengthening the natural forest conservation and nature reserve management and continuously implementing key ecological restoration programs, establish key ecological protection area and enhancing natural ecological restoration. By 2010, 90 percent of typical forest ecosystems and national key wildlife are effectively protected and nature reserve area accounts for 16 percent of the total territory; and 22 million hectares of desertified land is under control.

-By 2010, the vulnerability of water resources to climate change would be reduced by effective measures, such as rational exploitation and optimized allocation of water resources, building-up of new mechanism for infrastructure construction and popularization of water-saving concept. At that time, the anti-flood engineering systems in large rivers and the high standard for drought relief in farmland will be completed.

-By 2010, the construction and expansion of mangroves will be realized, the capability to resist marine disasters will be raised remarkably and the social influence and economic losses caused by sea level rise will be reduced in maximum through scientific monitoring of sea level change, regulating the ecosystem of marine and coastal zone areas, rationally exploiting the coastline, protecting coastal wetlands, constructing coastal shelterbelt system and continuously improving capabilities of protecting, restoring, planting and management of mangrove, etc.

3.3.3 To enhance R&D

-China will work hard to keep up with international advanced research on climate change in some fields by 2010, so as to provide effective and scientific basis for the development of national strategy and policy on climate change, and scientific guidance for participation in international cooperation on climate change. Measures in this regard include strengthening basic research on climate change, further developing and improving research and analytical methodology, intensifying the training and capacity building for professionals and decision-makers on climate change.

-In order to build up a strong scientific support to address climate change, China will work hard to build up its independent innovation capacity, promote international cooperation and technology transfer, achieve breakthrough in R&D on energy development, energy conservation and clean energy technology, and significantly enhance the adaptation capacity of agriculture and forestry by 2010.

3.3.4 To raise public awareness and improve management

-By means of modern information dissemination technologies, to strengthen communication, education and training to raise public awareness and participation in climate change. China will work hard to transfer the knowledge of climate change to all residential communities by 2010, to raise the whole society's awareness, and to create a friendly social environment to address climate change.

-By 2010, China will establish a suitable and high-efficient institutional and management framework to address climate change in the future by further improving the inter-ministerial decision-making and coordination mechanism on climate change and establishing an action mechanism for response to climate change involving a wide range of enterprise and public participation, etc.

Part 4 China's Policies and Measures to Address Climate Change

In accordance with the requirement of carrying out the Scientific Outlook on Development, China will combine its efforts to address climate change with the implementation of sustainable development strategy, the acceleration of building-up a resource-conserving and environmentally friendly society and an innovative country, which will be integrated into the overall national economic and social development plan and regional plan; and China will mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and in the meantime improve its capacity to adapt to climate change. China will make its efforts to realize the objectives and tasks presented in this program through adopting a series of institutional, legal, economic and technological instruments in order to strengthen energy conservation, optimize energy mix, improve ecological environment, enhance adaptation capacity, intensify research and development capacity, raise public awareness and improve mechanisms for climate change administration.

4.1 Key Areas for GHG Mitigation

4.1.1 Energy production and transformation

(1) Formulate and implement relevant laws and regulations

Vigorously strengthen energy legislation to establish and improve energy legal system, promote the implementation of China's national energy development strategy, establish the legal status of medium- and long-term energy program, promote the optimization of energy mix, and mitigate GHG emissions from energy production and transformation. Major policies and measures are as the following:

-Expedite the constitution and amendment of laws and regulations that are favorable to GHG mitigation. According to the requirement of China's social and economic sustainable development on establishing a stable, economic, clean and secure system for energy supply and service, constitute and promulgate a national Energy Law of the People's Republic of China as early as possible, amend the Law on the Coal Industry of the People's Republic of China and the Law on Electric Power of the People's Republic of China, and further intensify preferential policies to develop and utilize clean and low carbon energy.

-Strengthen research and formulate energy strategy program. Through preparing national medium- and long-term energy strategies, preparing or improving national energy program and special programs for coal, electricity, oil and natural gas, nuclear energy, renewable energy and oil repertory, China's capability in sustainable energy supply and clean development of energy shall be improved.

-Implement the Renewable Energy Law of the People's Republic of China in a comprehensive manner. Develop supportive regulations and policies, prepare national and local programs for renewable energy development, identify development objectives and integrate renewable energy development into assessment indicator systems for the construction of a resource-conservative and environmentally friendly society. Through legislation and other approaches, domestic and international economic entities will be guided and encouraged to participate in renewable energy development and utilization, and clean energy development will be pursued.

(To be continued)

(Source: http://en.ndrc.gov.cn)