China's Climate Mitigation Challenges and Tools
China's Climate Mitigation Challenges and Tools

Author: Shenghao Feng

Publisher:

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

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The contribution of this thesis lies in its original application of Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) modelling to some of the most important climate change mitigation challenges China faces, and some of the tools it could use to overcome them. The original findings of the thesis are summarized below. Overall, they underline the need for China to implement new methods, carefully designed, to reduce emissions. Chapter 2 focuses on the challenge of China's economic structure, and the tool of restructuring. A two-stage estimation process is implemented within CHINAGEM, a dynamic general equilibrium model of the Chinese economy, to study the potential contribution of successful economic rebalancing - from investment to consumption, and from industry to services - to reducing the country's carbon dioxide emissions. The results show that economic rebalancing alone may lead to 17 per cent reduction in the emissions intensity of GDP between 2012 and 2030. This estimate is higher than existing partial equilibrium estimates in the literature, and points to the importance of economic rebalancing from an environmental perspective. Chapter 3 focuses on the challenge of China's heavy level of coal dependency, and the tool of improving the efficiency of the use of coal in power generation. The analysis, again based on CHINAGEM, suggests that this will be a less important contributor to mitigation in the future than in the past. The pace and importance of improvements in coal-fired power generation efficiency is projected to halve mainly because, after the progress already made, China's current coal-fired power generation efficiency is already close to the world's best practice, but also because slower growth in electricity demand reduces the scope for expanding the generation fleet with new world-class plant. The chapter also shows that, going forward, switching to renewable energy and structural rebalancing will be more important for achieving China's emissions targets than improving coal-fired power generation efficiency. However, fully achieving China's 2020 emissions intensity reduction target will require a combination of all three. Chapter 4 focuses on the challenge of China's enormous regional diversity, and the tool of emissions trading. This chapter uses a multi-provincial static CGE model of the Chinese economy, SinoTERM-CO2, to simulate the linking of two provinces through a single emissions trading scheme. The simulations show that the richer regions (typified by Guangdong) may benefit from linking but the poorer regions (typified by Hubei) may lose. This is because poorer provinces in China tend to be more emissions intensive and therefore likely to face a carbon price rise upon linking, the economy-wide costs of which may be only partially offset by trading, if indeed trading is permitted. The economic logic behind this is explained by improving on the stylized model suggested by Adams and Parmenter (2013). China has not yet decided whether provincial caps will be retained when a national emissions trading scheme is introduced. This analysis suggests that they should be retained, and made more generous for poorer regions in order to ensure that linking is both welfare enhancing and politically acceptable.

Climate Mitigation and Adaptation in China
Climate Mitigation and Adaptation in China

Author: Jun Fu

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2021-10-29

Total Pages: 307

ISBN-13: 9811643105

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Climate change is a huge challenge to humanity in the 21th century. In view of China’s recent pledge to the international community to peak carbon emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, this book examines climate mitigation and adaptation efforts in China through the prism of the steel sector, and it does so from three interrelated perspectives, i.e., policy, technology, and market. The book argues that in developing the country’s strategy towards green growth, over the years there has been a positive and interactive relationship between China’s international commitments and domestic agenda setting in mitigation and adaptation to the impact of climate change. To illustrate China’s efforts, two special areas, i.e., carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) and emissions-trading system (ETS), have received focused examination. Along the spectrum of low-carbon, zero-carbon, and negative-carbon strategies, this study ends with a simulation model which outlines different policy scenarios, challenges, and uncertainties, as China moves further on, trying to achieve carbon neutrality in 2060. The book will be of interest to scholars, policy-makers, and business executives who want to understand China’s growing role in the world.

China: Tackle the Challenge of Global Climate Change
China: Tackle the Challenge of Global Climate Change

Author: Angang Hu

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-05-18

Total Pages: 279

ISBN-13: 1351783939

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Global climate change is one of the challenges ever to confront humanity with the largest scale, widest scope and most far-reaching influence. As the biggest developing country with the largest population, China is the world’s leading consumer of coal and energy, and one of the worst-hit victims of global warming. Consequently, China should assume its responsibility in making contributions to global sustainable development. Based on the principles of fairness and efficiency, this study creatively puts forward two principles of global governance on climate change. The first entails replacement of the two-group schema of developed and developing countries with a four-group model based on the Human Development Index (HDI). The second entails application of the resulting model to specify the major emitters as principal contributors to emission reduction. In addition, it proposes a two-step strategy for China to tackle the issue of climate change. This book makes it clear that China should proactively engage in relevant international cooperation, actively participate in international climate negotiations, make clear commitments to reduce emissions, and assume the obligations of a responsible power to achieve sustainable and green development.

China's Climate Policy
China's Climate Policy

Author: Gang Chen

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2012-05-16

Total Pages: 146

ISBN-13: 113630360X

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To understand China’s climate change policy is not easy, as the country itself is a paradox actor in global climate political economy: it used to take very suspicious stand on the scientific certainty of climate change, but recently it has become a signatory and firm supporter of the Kyoto Protocol; it stubbornly refuses to accept any emission cutting obligations, but has gradually taken the lead in developing renewable energies and carbon trading business; it accuses western countries of their hypocrisy and irresponsibility, but ironically maintains close cooperation with them on low-carbon projects; it fears climate mitigation commitments may hamper the economic growth, but meanwhile spends most lavishly on the research and development of clean energy and other green technologies. This book, unlike other researches which explain China’s climate policy from pure economics or politics/foreign policy perspectives, provides a panoramic view over China’s climate-related regulations, laws and policies as well as various government and non-government actors involved in the climate politics. Through analyzing the political and socioeconomic factors that influence the world’s largest carbon emitter’s participation into the global collective actions against climate change, the book argues that as a vast continental state with a mix of authoritarian politics and a quasi-liberalised market economy, China’s climate policy process is fragmented and self-defensive, seemingly having little room for significant compromises or changes; yet in response to the mounting international pressures and energy security concerns and attracted by lucrative carbon businesses and clean energy market, the regime shows some sort of better-than-expected flexibility and shrewdness in coping with the newly-emerged challenges. Its future climate actions, whether effective or not, are vital not only for the success of the global mitigation effort, but for China’s own economic restructure and sustainable development. The book is a unique research monograph on the evolving domestic and foreign policies taken by the Chinese government to tackle climate change challenges. It concludes that instead of being motivated by concern about its vulnerability to climate change, Chinese climate-related policies have been mainly driven by its intensive attention to energy security, business opportunities lying in emerging green industries and image consideration in the global climate politics.

Climate Risk and Resilience in China
Climate Risk and Resilience in China

Author: Rebecca Nadin

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-10-14

Total Pages: 345

ISBN-13: 1317593758

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China has been subject to floods, droughts and heat waves for millennia; these hazards are not new. What is new is how rapidly climate risks are changing for different groups of people and sectors. This is due to the unprecedented rates of socio-economic development, migration, land-use change, pollution and urbanisation, all occurring alongside increasingly more intense and frequent weather hazards and shifting seasons. China’s leadership is facing a significant challenge – from conducting and integrating biophysical and social vulnerability and risk assessments and connecting the information from these to policy priorities and time frames, to developing and implementing policies and actions at a variety of scales. It is within this challenging context that China’s policy makers, businesses and citizens must manage climate risk and build resilience. This book provides a detailed study of how China has been working to understand and respond to climatic risk, such as droughts and desertification in the grasslands of Inner Mongolia to deadly typhoons in the mega-cities of the Pearl River Delta. Using research and data from a wide range of Chinese sources and the Adapting to Climate Change in China (ACCC) project, a research-to-policy project, this book provides a fascinating glimpse into how China is developing policies and approaches to manage the risks and opportunities presented by climate change. This book will be of interest to those studying global and Chinese climate change policy, regional food, water and climate risk, and to policy advisors.

China's Dilemma
China's Dilemma

Author: Ligang Song

Publisher: ANU E Press

Published: 2008-07-01

Total Pages: 446

ISBN-13: 1921536039

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China's Dilemma - Economic Growth, the Environment and Climate Change examines the challenges China will have to confront in order to maintain rapid growth while coping with the global financial turbulence, some rising socially destabilising tensions such as income inequality, an over-exploited environment and the long-term pressures of global warming. China's Dilemma discusses key questions that will have an impact on China's growth path and offers some in-depth analyses as to how China could confront these challenges. The authors address the effect of the global credit crunch and financial shocks on China's economic growth; China's contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and emissions reduction schemes; the environmental consequences of foreign direct investment in China; the relationship between air pollution and mortality; the effect of climate change on agricultural output; the coal industry's compliance with tougher regulations; and the constraints water shortages may impose on China's economy. It also emphasises the importance of managing the rising demand for energy to moderate oil price increases and placating domestic and international concerns about global warming. In the thirty years since China started on the path of reform, it has emerged as one of the largest and most dynamic economies in the world. This carries with it the responsibility to balance the requirements of key industries that are driving its development with the need to ensure that its growth is both equitable and sustainable. China's Dilemma highlights key lessons learned from the past thirty years of reform in order to pave the way for balanced and sustained growth in the future.

The Economics of Climate Change in China
The Economics of Climate Change in China

Author: Fan Gang

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-09-13

Total Pages: 481

ISBN-13: 1134073666

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China faces many modernization challenges, but perhaps none is more pressing than that posed by climate change. China must find a new economic growth model that is simultaneously environmentally sustainable, can free it from its dependency on fossil fuels, and lift living standards for the majority of its population. But what does such a model look like? And how can China best make the transition from its present macro-economic structure to a low-carbon future? This ground-breaking economic study, led by the Stockholm Environment Institute and the Chinese Economists 50 Forum, brings together leading international thinkers in economics, climate change, and development, to tackle some of the most challenging issues relating to China's low-carbon development. This study maps out a deep carbon reduction scenario and analyzes economic policies that shift carbon use, and shows how China can take strong and decisive action to make deep reductions in carbon emission over the next forty years while maintaining high economic growth and minimizing adverse effects of a low-carbon transition. Moreover, these reductions can be achieved within the finite global carbon budget for greenhouse gas emissions, as determined by the hard constraints of climate science. The authors make the compelling case that a transition to a low-carbon economy is an essential part of China's development and modernization. Such a transformation would also present opportunities for China to improve its energy security and move its economy higher up the international value chain. They argue that even in these difficult economic times, climate change action may present more opportunities than costs. Such a transformation, for China and the rest of the world, will not be easy. But it is possible, necessary and worthwhile to pursue.

Energy Policies and Climate Change in China
Energy Policies and Climate Change in China

Author: Han Lin

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-08-02

Total Pages: 198

ISBN-13: 0429684304

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In the face of growing environmental challenges, including climate change and energy security, countries across the globe are developing new policies and programs to address these challenges, and China is no exception. This book analyses China’s two most significant climate-related energy policies, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM; including the later Chinese Certified Emission Reduciton – CCER) and the Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction Scheme (ECERS). This work specifically examines the strengths and weaknesses of these policies to highlight the deficiencies and advise how they can be optimised, so China can better achieve its emission reduction goals. It analyses the roles and relationships between relevant actors and identifies how successful their cooperation has been, and what factors have affected it. Importantly, the work draws on a wide range of sources from central ministries to civil society, including interviews with Chinese officials, scholars, energy company managers, environment non-govermental organisation (ENGO) personnel, media reports, and online forum discussions. In doing so, the book not only analyses the thoughts of policymakers, as many works do, but also those implementing the policies and those impacted by the policies. The book concludes by offering detailed and practical solutions to address each specific deficiency in the CDM and ECERS policies, with the aim of providing innovations and alternative approaches to improve current and future policies in China. This book will be of great interest to students, scholars, and policymakers interested in climate change, energy, and Chinese environmental policy and politics.

China's Climate Change Policies
China's Climate Change Policies

Author: Wang Weiguang

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-03-05

Total Pages: 297

ISBN-13: 1136345167

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China is becoming a rising star in global economical and political affairs. Both internationally and within China itself, people have great expectations of its future role. This book aims to clarify many aspects of China’s key position in the climate change situation and policy debates. However, limited by its development stage, natural resource endowment, and other unbalanced developing issues, China is still a developing country. This book shows the reader the real China, which can provide more comprehensive solutions for future global climate regimes. This book includes research into China’s twelfth Five-Year-Plan; low-carbon city pilot schemes; policies and pathways for China’s nationally appropriate mitigation actions; China’s forestry management; China’s NGOs and climate change; the low-carbon 2010 Expo in Shanghai; carbon budget proposals; China’s green economy and green jobs; China’s reaction to carbon tariffs; China’s actions in approaching adaptation; China’s cumulative carbon emissions, and more. China’s Climate Change Policies brings together experienced experts with in-depth understanding of the scientific assessment of climate change and relevant social and economic policies, and senior experts who have participated directly in international climate negotiations. This will help the reader to better understand the 2011 Durban climate change conference, as well as China’s long-term strategy in response to climate change.