Research Paper on China and Global Warming

Introduction

The concept of climate change and the global economy are closely linked. Scientific evidence indicates that human activities contribute significantly to the increased carbon dioxide concentration. The result has been global warming, rise in sea levels, and increased frequency of extreme weathers. It, therefore, means that climate change translates to increased alteration of the environment. Despite the generation of the global climate change being international, the implication varies with different localities. It means that localities experience dramatic environmental changes which introduce novice social and economic challenges. In the contemporary world, the focus has been on contributions and strategies to address the problem of global by industrialized nations such as the United States. It is, however, important to examine China's role in the phenomenon of global warming. The involvement of China in the problem of global warming has gained global attention. China is the second-largest economy and has emerged as the largest global producer of greenhouse gases. Despite the significant involvement in climate change, the country's leadership has ignored international pressure to address its greenhouse gas emissions. The realization of the implication of climate change may, however, act as a driving force towards climate change mitigation strategies by China. This paper examines the role of China in climate change, its attitude, and the formulation of mitigation strategies.

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China's Involvement in Global Warming

The major driver of climate change has been greenhouse gas emission emanating from human activities. It has been established that China has the largest carbon footprint globally. In 2017, it was reported that the country was culpable for 28.3% of the global greenhouse gas discharge ("China managing its greenhouse gas emissions" 2018). The high carbon emission is due to the country's population, overreliance on coal, and inefficient capital investment (Mohajan, 2014). Coal is the basic source of energy that powers the nation's economic growth. It constitutes approximately 69.9% of China's power expenditure between 1985 and 2016 ("China managing its greenhouse gas emissions" 2018). The utilization of coal is associated with high environmental cost since its carbon dioxide production is twice compared to other fossil fuels. China emits approximately 73% of greenhouse gases, and this is more than emissions from countries in Europe, Africa, and Latin America combined. There is an additional 15% of greenhouse gas emission from oil use. The industrial sector is the highest consumer of coal with manufacturing, agriculture, construction, and mining constituting 67.9% of nation's energy use and 54.2% of the total coal consumption in 2015 ("China managing its greenhouse gas emissions" 2018). The major source of greenhouses gases in China has been construction-related activities such as cement and steel production. For instance, China uses more cement in between 2011 and 2013 than United States consumption in the entire 20th century ("China managing its greenhouse gas emissions" 2018). Additionally, the country constitutes half of the world's steel production. The production of steel and cement are coal intensive, hence the increased records of carbon dioxide production.

Effects of Global Warming

The concentration of the greenhouse gases has been on the rise since 1750. These gases cause the reduction of the ozone layer and lead to the greenhouse effect. There has been a consensus that human-related greenhouse gases emissions are the primary driver of changes in global climate. China's climate is greatly varied as the south is tropical while the north is subarctic. The south and the north experiences floods and droughts, respectively, due to unevenly seasonal and spatial rainfall (Mohajan, 2014). The country is hit by monsoons, typhoons, and tsunamis, among others. The climate changes contributed by greenhouse gases from the rapid economic growth has led to serious environmental issues. There has been an increase in frequency and intensity of extreme weather conditions such as increased heat waves, high temperatures, droughts, and heavy rainfall, among others. Southern China is experiencing increased heavy rainstorms and floods with the inclusion of snow and low-temperature freezing rain. Northern China is witnessing severe droughts, and western China is experiencing more autumn rains. It has also been reported that China's coastal regions have risen by 90mm in the last few decades (Mohajan, 2014).

China has experienced extreme temperatures under global warming targets which are 1.5 C and 2 C, and these have had substantial effects on precipitation and agriculture (Shi et al., 2018). The fifth stage of the Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project was used in evaluating the variations in temperature extremes over China. It was established that there is an increment in average temperature and extremes. It was reported an increase in 0.5 C global warming would result in substantial implications on China's temperature extremes. For instance, a 0.5 C temperature change between the extremes will lead to more than 0.5 C change in temperature across the country (Shi et al., 2018). The major regions that will be affected by experiencing more than twice the change in temperature due to the change of 0.5 C climate change include Northwest China, the Tibetan Plateau, and Northeast China. The evidenced changes in temperature will lead to precipitation variations. The 2.0 C global warming event will result to increment in yearly precipitation and reduction in yearly maximum daily precipitation relative to the 1.5 C (Sun et al., 2018). Ultimately, there is a decrement in frequency and increase in participation intensity. Also, the changes in temperature and hence annual precipitation has affected climatic suitability for maize farming in China over the summer. It is understood that a 0.5 C increase in climate change results to a shift in the maize cultivable region towards the north, and the west side indicates the possibility of expansion of cultivable land over summer (He et al., 2019). Also, the changes in temperature will lead to a decline in the coral growth in the entire South China Sea (Yan et al., 2019). This means that the change in global warming impacts agriculture and hence, the need to plan according to climatic conditions.

China's Attitude towards Addressing Global Warming Issues

China's participation in global negotiations concerning global warming has changed from non-involvement in the 1990s to being proactive, evidenced in the 2000s (Li, 2016). The nation's leaders in the 1990s disregarded the problem of environmental degradation, citing it as a necessary price to be paid for addressing the issue of prevalent poverty (Li, 2016). This meant that it was not necessary for China to reduce its carbon emission levels, and it was the responsibility of the developed nations to provide the technology necessary to control global carbon emission. Another reason for the reluctance to be involved in international negotiation on global warming has been the caution concerning the potential interfere by foreign powers in the country's domestic affairs. The 2000s have witnessed tensions between the expectations of the international community and China's stand on its responsibility concerning the global environment (Li, 2016). For instance, there were accusations that China obstructed the possibility of a significant agreement on global warming in 2009 at the Copenhagen Conference (Li, 2016). However, recent times have seen China devote more resources to address the problem of its carbon emissions.

China's Strategies for Addressing Global Warming

China involvement in international negotiations concerning global warming has undergone significant changes. The 1990s was a time when the country was actively involved in reducing its carbon emissions. This has however changed, and this has been underscored by its substantial role in the success of the Paris Climate Summit. The long-haul objective of the Paris Climate Summit is the restriction of global warming to levels under the 2.0 C mark and then seek to ensure the limits are at 1.5 C (Shi et al., 2018). The commitment of China was witnessed in its climatic diplomacy before the summit. For instance, it was involved in various bilateral agreements with nations such as France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Germany. Also, there has been a shift in the country's domestic politics supporting carbon emission cuts. China also presented its own Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC), which indicated its targets for reducing emissions and its reaffirmation of the need to peak carbon emissions by 2030 (Li, 2016). These indicate the change in tide in China concerning global warming and the need to cut carbon emissions.

Conclusion

Over the years, China has emerged as the second-largest economy. The economic development has, however, been accompanied by significant greenhouse gases emissions. The climate change, indicated by temperature changes which have affected precipitation frequency and intensity, and summer cultivation among others in China. In the 1990s, China was reluctant to be involved in international negotiation concerning carbon emissions. However, this has changed, as evidenced by the cooperation on climate change in the Paris Agreement. The rationale behind the increased vigilance is to find solutions to domestic environmental issues and improve energy supply diversification.

References

He, Q., Zhou, G., Lu, X., & Zhou, M. (2019). Climatic suitability and spatial distribution for summer maize cultivation in China at 1.5 and 2.0 C global warming. Science Bulletin, 64(10), 690-697. DOI: 10.1016/j.scib.2019.03.030

How is China managing its greenhouse gas emissions? | China Power Project. (2018). Retrieved 27 September 2019, from https://chinapower.csis.org/china-greenhouse-gas-emissions/

Li, A. (2016). Hopes of Limiting Global Warming? China and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Retrieved 27 September 2019, from https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Hopes-of-Limiting-Global-Warming.-China-and-the-on-Li/8ade0948da36c2302c8def5fd16de96a3f818c8b

Mohajan, H. (2014). Greenhouse Gas Emissions of China. Journal of Environmental Treatment Techniques, 1(4), 190-202. Retrieved from https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/53705/1/MPRA_paper_53705.pdf

Shi, C., Jiang, Z., Chen, W., & Li, L. (2018). Changes in temperature extremes over China under 1.5 C and 2 C global warming targets. Advances in Climate Change Research, 9(2), 120-129. DOI: 10.1016/j.accre.2017.11.003

Sun, H., Wang, A., Zhai, J., Huang, J., Wang, Y., & Wen, S. et al. (2018). Impacts of global warming of 1.5 C and 2.0 C on precipitation patterns in China by the regional climate model (COSMO-CLM). Atmospheric Research, 203, 83-94. DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosres.2017.10.024

Yan, H., Shi, Q., Yu, K., Tao, S., Yang, H., & Liu, Y. et al. (2019). Regional coral growth responses to seawater warming in the South China Sea. Science of the Total Environment, 670, 595-605. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.03.135