Climate change has undoubtedly been happening around the world, is currently happening, and will also continue to happen. According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), it is widely believed that present climate change is a result of the “greenhouse effect.” The greenhouse effect is an increase in temperature as a result of heat in the Earth being unable to escape. Heat struggles to escape from our atmosphere when gases such as nitrous oxide, water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane are in the atmosphere in excess. The burning of fossil fuels is one factor that adds these gases to the atmosphere and therefore causes the greenhouse effect. Ever since the Industrial Revolution began in the 18th century, the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide has increase by more than 33 percent due to humans (NASA). While those who don’t believe in climate change argue that there are fluctuations in the environment naturally, the statistics show that humans undoubtedly have had a negative effect on our planet.
China is not only the world’s most populated country, but as of 2014 it was also the world’s biggest fossil fuel producer (Wilson). China is one of the major countries where products are manufactured. Many products are made in China and shipped to different countries due to the ability to produce the items for a low cost. Producing so many products in one location can, and does, have an extreme effect on the environment. China has struggled with climate change due to the immense burning of fossil fuels that is a result of producing products. Another reason that China struggles with climate change problems is their extremely large population, out numbering every other country in the world.
Current Climate Change Data
In April 2009, the Joint Global Change Research Institute and Battelle Memorial Institute, Pacific Northwest Division published a commissioned research report titled “China: The Impact of Climate Change to 2030.” The research report utilized different data from peer-reviewed research to summarize the climate change taking place in China and the effect that it is having on both their country and the world. According to this report, from 1908 to 2007 there has been a 1.1 degree Celsius increase in China’s average temperature (JGCRI). While a 1.1 degree Celsius change may not sound significant, it is an extreme increase and can have many drastic effects such as increased sea levels and devastating weather conditions which in turn cause emotional and economic hardships. These statistics have motivated China to take steps towards fixing their environment.
China has already begun to feel the effects of these changes in the climate. Sea levels have already increased 90 millimeters in the past 30 years. Also, the extreme weather events that China has experienced such as severe floods, droughts, and storms has costed the country $25 to 37.5 billion per year in recent years (JGCRI).
Challenges Faced by China
One challenge faced by China is the poor engineering of buildings that makes it difficult for them to withstand natural disasters caused by climate change. There are currently regions in China that are labeled “infrastructure hotspots” by the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford. As of 2016, these infrastructure hotspots were Beijing, Tianjin, Jiangsu, Shanghai, and Zhejiang (Hu). These are regions that are susceptible to a severe economic impact following natural disasters caused by climate change due to an increased concentration of critical infrastructure including power plants, transport systems and water treatment centers. If climate change were to cause a natural disaster, which has started happening and is becoming increasingly more likely, then these are the regions that would struggle the most.
One factor that China must consider is the economic effects that reducing fossil fuel emissions could have on their country. The growth of infrastructure investment in China has caused about 70 percent growth in China since 1952 (Hu). While these are impressive statistics, the growth has been causing climate change and therefore potential natural disasters which could wipe out all of the infrastructure due to the inability to withstand these disasters. The system is essentially working towards destroying itself. However, China is taking steps towards limiting the burning of fossil fuels and it actually has not faced extreme economic deficits from altering manufacturing processes.
Steps Being Taken to Combat Climate Change and Progress
In China, the climate change issues are so extreme that it is difficult for individuals to have an effect on fixing the issue. This does not mean that citizens should not take steps towards bettering the environment with tactics such as reducing electricity usage or carpooling. However, this means that much of the responsibility lays in the hands of the companies. One possible solution as noted by The Oxford study is the application of risk assessments to find the different risks and how to decrease the chances of these potential disasters (Hu). Since the Chinese government is the largest owner and operator of the infrastructure in China, they are largely responsible for the climate change occurring. In one plan, the government placed a focus on protecting their infrastructure from the natural disasters which are too late to reverse. In their National Climate Change Adaption Plan, the country placed a focus on improving the warning systems as well as engineering of new infrastructure to withstand natural disasters better than current buildings (Hu). These changes are not limiting fossil fuel emissions which will in turn halt climate change, but they are accepting that the immense amounts of fossil fuels already released in the environment will undoubtedly have effects which need to be dealt with. However, China is also taking steps to prevent future climate change due to fossil fuels.
China is a part of the Paris Agreement, an agreement that brings nations together towards a common goal of combating climate change and adapting to the inevitable effects we’ve already caused. China is very devoted to this plan as well as lowering fossil fuel emissions. The New York Times published an article in May 2017 discussing China’s devotion towards the Paris Agreement and what it stands for. The article explains that in the last three years, steps have been taken that have proven that the prevention of climate change does not cause an economic threat to the country. China has invested in solar and wind power as an alternative to burning coal (NYT). In fact, even though it is initially a large investment to purchase solar panels or wind turbines, there have been many instances where the use of renewable energy is actually cheaper to use instead of coal or other harmful products. Over the past three years, coal use has been reduced in China and plans to build new coal power plants have been done away with. Part of this decline, according to The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, is a result of China banning new coal power plants in three of their regions: Beijing, Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, and the Pearl River Delta (C2ES).
Another technique the Chinese government has used is providing generous incentives to citizens who invest in electric vehicles. China’s motivation towards combating climate change can partially be attributed to their desire for cleaner cities. The immense pollution causes large cities to struggle with visible air pollution that has an effect on the health of citizens. Not to mention, a dirty city decreases the likelihood of tourists which brings money to their country. Also, a desire to avoid the natural disasters as previously mentioned is another reason the country is so motivated. These are only a few of the steps China has been taking towards decreasing fossil fuel emissions to limit climate change.
Predictions for Upcoming Years
According to the Climate Action Tracker, a scientific analysis provided by three research organizations that track 32 countries and their climate actions, China is on track to surpass the climate pledges they made in the Paris Agreement (CAT). Following China’s current success in decreasing coal consumption should be a continued decline in coal consumption.
China set a goal for their carbon emissions to peak by 2030, however some researchers believe they may have already reached the peak in 2016. Joanna Lewis, an expert on China’s energy landscape, explained in an article in The Washington Post that there is only so much to build. “We’re reaching a point in much of China where the cities have been built, the roads have been built, a lot of the demand for cement and steel is essentially slowing,” Lewis said. A lower demand for building leads to a decrease in the amount of greenhouse gases used for production. This is one of the reasons that China may have already peaked in carbon emissions and will now experience a steady decrease in emissions.
Climate change is an imminent threat not only in China, but the rest of the world. However, China’s government is aware of the steps that need to be taken to fix the problem in order to save the future. The problem with climate change is that in order to fix it, we cannot be selfish. While it is easier to mass produce products and live carelessly because it is more convenient, the effects that our actions are having on the world and the future are extremely dangerous and in certain situations deathly. If China and the rest of the world can fix their actions now and set up the Earth for a cleaner future, then future generations will be forced into the habit of doing the same thing and we will not lead to our own destruction.
China is just one example of a country taking steps towards battling climate change by reducing fossil fuel emissions to battle the greenhouse effect. However, almost every country on the planet is also working towards providing a clean and safe environment for future generations. As previously mentioned, The Paris Agreement is just one example of the collaborative effort being taken to battle climate change.