China’s Role in Global Climate Change Challenge

International Dialogue

China has endeavored to promote international communication and mutual trust in coping with climate change， with the aim of establishing a transparent and effective global mechanism to deal with it.

Under the dual-track negotiation mechanism defined in the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol， China has participated in international negotiations on climate change， insisting on the principle of “com- mon but differentiated responsibilities，” striving to enhance communication with different sides and playing a constructive role in urging joint efforts.

In various multilateral and bilateral meetings， such as the G8 Summit， G20 Summit， Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation （APEC）， East Asia Summit and Boao Forum for Asia， Chinese presidents and premiers have long expounded on China’s stance on coping with climate change and expressed determi-nation to promote global action in this area.

China’s many affiliations with working groups on climate change demonstrate the country’s commitment to the cause. China is a member of the Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum， the Methane to Markets Partnership and the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate， as well as a participant in the G8 and Developing Countries Talks on Climate Change and Major Economies Meetings on Energy Safety and Climate Change. At an APEC meeting， China advocated the founding of an AsiaPacific Network for Sustainable Forest Management and Rehabilitation and hosted an International Forum on Climate Change and Science and Technology Innovation.

In terms of bilateral cooperation， China has established dialogue and cooperation on climate change with the EU， India， Brazil， South Africa， Japan， Canada and the U.K. and set climate change as an important item on the agenda.

In April this year， the Chinese and U.S. governments signed the Joint U.S.-China Statement on Climate Change. They initiated a Climate Change Working Group responsible for implementing the collaborative plans set out by the two countries and also included the topic in the 2013 Strategic and Economic Dialogue.

At the Fifth Round of the Strategic and Economic Dialogue held in July， joint efforts in dealing with climate change became a new impetus to boost bilateral ties. The two sides agreed to cut emissions on heavyduty and other vehicles， launch cooperation on carbon capture， utilization and storage， raise energy efficiency in buildings and industry， and build smart grids， which capture essential information on energy use. It is expected that these initiatives will enhance multilateral cooperation and help establish a new international protocol in coping with climate change by 2015.

Sci-Tech Cooperation

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change（IPCC） assesses the scientific， technical and socioeconomic information relevant to the understanding of the risk of human-induced climate change. China supports this and has sent delegations to every IPCC meeting. China also organizes research and submits reports relevant to the organization， and conversely， assesses IPCC reports to make its own contribution to help the organization carry out comprehensive， objective， open and transparent assessments.

Since the 1990s， China has cooperated with institutions such as the UN Environment Program， the World Bank and the Asia Development Bank to carry out projects such as Carbon Dioxide Emission Control Strategies Research for China， National Strategies of Coping with Climate Change in China and Research on Minimum Cost for Cutting Carbon Dioxide in Asia. China has cooperated with the U.S.， Canada， the U.K. and Japan in areas such as climate change in different countries and its impact in the Asia-Pacific region and reached many important conclusions.

In recent years， international cooperation in meteorology and science education has expanded multilaterally， with China participating in numerous global initiatives such as the World Climate Research Program within the Framework of the Earth System Science Partnership， and the International GeosphereBiosphere Program （IGBP）， to name but a few.

Regional cooperation plans launched by China include the Monsoon Asia Integrated Regional Study （MAIRS）， which focuses on human-monsoon system interaction and to what extent human activities modulate the Asian monsoon climate， and the Northwestern Pacific Ocean Circulation and Climate Experiment （NPOCE）. The Chinese National Expert Committee on Climate Change has proactively conducted academic discussions with relevant think tanks from other countries， promoting cooperation in scientific research， technology transfer， public education and information sharing.

Moreover， China carries out extensive sci-tech cooperation with the U.K.， Italy， Japan and South Korea in building energy-efficient， low-carbon towns and cities and smart grids.

Foreign Aid

As a key player in the international community and under the framework of South-South Cooperation， China continues to advance foreign aid in coping with climate change. China shares its wealth of green technology and experience of developing a green economy with other developing countries and supports their capacity building for climate change adaptation.

Since 2006， the Chinese government has issued a series of foreign aid measures， and pledged to carry out pragmatic cooperation with other developing countries， prioritizing its support in areas such as agriculture， health care， clean energy， environmental protection， safe drinking water， human resource development and the construction of meteorological infrastructure.

The Chinese government has provided over 800 batches of aid materials to nearly 100 countries， including wind and solar power systems， lighting systems， mobile power supplies， methane equipment， waste disposal trucks， and irrigation and drainage facilities. In order to help， in particular， African countries， enhance meteorological infrastructure construction and improve forest protection and management， China will focus on building automatic meteorological stations， upper-air observation radar stations and forest protection facilities in the region.

In addition， the Chinese government has set up agricultural technology demonstration centers in 17 Asian and African countries and sent experts to those countries for training and technology promotion. In terms of clean energy， China helps construct small hydropower stations， wind power stations and agricultural methane stations. Examples in this regard include the water conservancy project in Afghanistan， the installation of solar panels and solar water heating systems in Morocco and Lebanon， the water resource exploration and urban water supply project in Niger and the dry farming technology demonstration project in Congo. China’s efforts have effectively promoted environmental protection and relieved the power shortage for agricultural production in those countries. In terms of technological cooperation， China has implemented 47 climate change-related technological cooperation projects in 43 countries. So far over 30 Chinese agricultural technology teams are working in recipient countries. There are over 60 Chinese medical teams with more than 1，300 doctors working in 57 countries in Asia， Africa and Latin America.

While providing material and technological aid， China also helps developing countries in personnel training. Since 2006， China has organized 134 training classes in dealing with climate change， offering guidance to nearly 4，000 officials and technicians. The education program covers wide areas， including the development and utilization of renewable energy， small-scale hydrotechnology， forestry management， desertification prevention and control， and clean energy training. Many officials that have participated in such training have gone on to become the backbone in their departments， and made contributions to tackling the challenge of climate change.