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Copyright of Journal of Planning Education & Research is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper proposes a conceptual and analytical framework of states' legitimacy-seeking to comprehensively investigate the motivation behind China's climate and environment policy. While previous research has largely overlooked political factors that underlie China's climate policy, this paper argues that these factors are crucial in understanding China's policy changes, which are evident at both domestic and international levels. By examining sources such as government documents, leaders' speeches and authoritative literature, this study contends that China's climate change initiatives are part of a broader effort to enhance domestic and international legitimacy. The issue of climate change has become highly politicised in China under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, and it serves as a crucial test of the ruling party and the state's capacity to govern effectively. As such, legitimacy-seeking is the key driver that links China's domestic measures and international commitments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: After almost 10 years, people wonder if green finance has been able to attain its objectives in terms of controlling climate change. Persistent global warming and climate deregulation manifested by melting glaciers, droughts and floods, are all of these determinants that have called into question the efficiency of green finance. Design/methodology/approach: Green finance is a way to support climate action through investments. It has proven that this is a viable financial instrument and that it can be used by governments and private companies to plan for the future of our planet. Findings: Based on an analysis of articles published in top international journals from 2016 to 2022, about the relationship between green technology and financial services in China, this paper aims to present an overview of green finance, its importance for the planet, its objectives and its instruments. Research limitations/implications: This study's contribution is to shed light on the aspects that may have limited its effectiveness, such as the absence of incentives, the absence of climate costs and above all the absence of finance green standards. Originality/value: The results have shown that there is still a significant gap in green finance before inclusive green growth can be achieved. Inclusive green growth. All stakeholders need to increase the level of investment in green finance. The green investment financing gap is the result of inconsistencies in sustainability and policies. Therefore, governments must intervene to impose appropriate policies and regulations to compel the financial sector to engage in sustainable development. All of these factors make the concept of green finance just an illusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) offers great opportunities for China and Mongolia to collaborate on tackling climate change. However, few studies have focused on China--Mongolia collaboration on climate change under the BRI's sustainable development framework; in particular, studies have neglected the factors and feasibility of collaboration. Focusing on China and Mongolia, this study first discusses the evolution of legislation in China and Mongolia in the context of dealing with climate change and then explores the factors that influence China--Mongolia collaboration on climate change mitigation from the perspectives of climate environmental governance and energy development at the domestic level. Subsequently, the paper analyzes the Paris Agreement to identify international factors that can influence climate change cooperation between the two countries. Finally, based on the results of this analysis, this paper identifies geopolitical relations, the energy supply, technology and investment, and the demand for a transition to sustainable development as the main driving forces for China and Mongolia to collaborate on climate change mitigation under the BRI. Finally, the paper concludes that collaboration between the two countries is highly feasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban areas mediate climate transformations and generate new forms of climate urbanism. Looking at climate action in the twelve fastest-growing cities in China with under one million people, this paper proposes a perspective on urban climate politics 'from elsewhere' that foregrounds the potential role of smaller urban areas in mediating climate transformations. The analysis reveals three climate action strategies that reflect practical, institutional, and personal spheres of climate transformations. Planning action in the personal sphere provides opportunities for urban transformations. A perspective 'from elsewhere' calls for greater attention to planning for diverse change strategies for climate transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the acceleration of the global response to climate change, increasing attention has been paid to the risks associated with climate change mitigation, such as regulation uncertainties and market interactions. As the country with the greatest CO2 emissions globally, China has launched a national carbon market to speed up its climate mitigation. While the national carbon market provides a platform for regional coalitions to reduce emissions, its incomplete sectoral coverage might allow for the strategic behavior of industries in different regions and ultimately affect the efficiency of the carbon market. This paper explores how the sectoral expansion of the national carbon market affects regional emission reductions in China when emissions trading sectors engage in strategic behavior in the output market. From the sectoral perspective, our numerical results show that the strategic effect in the electricity and steel sectors is more significant than in other sectors. From a regional perspective, the western regions of China, which are mostly permit sale regions, have less strategic power than the eastern regions in the output and carbon markets. Finally, this paper suggests that measures, such as the dynamic adjustment of emission allowance allocation, should be considered by policy makers to prevent the widening of regional economic disparities when extending the sectoral coverage of the carbon market in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assuming responsibility for emission reduction is an important part of participating in the global governance of climate change. Countries with a carbon neutrality target now cover about 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Carrying out fairness evaluations of their carbon neutrality targets provide a strong basis for the global carbon inventory. In this paper, the target years of carbon neutrality for major countries and regions under the global target of 2 °C and 1.5 °C are studied using the burden sharing model. On this basis, this paper simulates the possible pathways of carbon neutrality and evaluates the ambition of emission reduction targets in terms of annual emission reduction, per capita emission, and cumulative per capita emission. The results show that, from the perspective of equity, most of the developing countries cannot meet the global goal of 1.5 °C. The United States and the European Union nations could achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 by continuing their annual emission reductions under their existing NDC targets. However, to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, China's annual emission reduction rate from 2030 to 2050 will be 6.7%, and the annual amount of emission reduction accounts for 51% of the global amount under the 1.5 °C target. Meanwhile, China would become the main force behind global cumulative emissions in the following decades. Thus, the emission reduction pathways China chooses will have an important impact on global climate mitigation progress. Based on the above research conclusions, this paper proposes that developed countries and developing countries should explore bilateral or multilateral cooperation in technology and finance in the field of climate change. Under the great pressure to achieve carbon neutrality, China needs to carry out research on the overall emission reduction pathways as soon as possible and clarify the paths at the scale of sectors, industries, provinces, and time stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we empirically evaluate the effect of climate change on agricultural technical efficiency, considering the moderating effect of mitigation efforts based on emission reduction in China. In particular, we directly measure the intensity of mitigation efforts using the climate change mitigation index. We then apply the two-stage double bootstrap DEA method to build up the empirical model, effectively avoiding biased estimation using the traditional two-stage DEA method. Our results show that the intensity of mitigation measures moderates the impacts of global warming on efficiency and mild mitigation measures are better than drastic ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: The topography and climate background determine that the hazard happens periodically, and these factors are fundamental for the weak vulnerability in the Sedongpu basin; The dynamic glacier simulations with the Elmer/Ice model showed that the glacier surface velocity can reach 19 cm/d on the Dongpu glacier; Heavy rain and an earthquake were triggering factors of the ice avalanche that led to the glacial debris flow. In this paper, the glacial debris flow blockage event, on 17 October 2018, in the Sedongpu basin of the Yarlung Zangbo River is taken as an example to analyse the occurrence and development of glacier hazards in this region. Multi-sources including remote sensing products, DEM, earthquake records and meteorological data were used to analyse the characteristics and mechanism of glacier hazards. The Elmer/Ice dynamic model was chosen to simulate the glacial surface velocity. It was found that topography and climate background determine that the hazard happens periodically. Based on the meteorological records of the Linzhi station, the warming rate was greater than 0.40 °C/10a during the period 1960–2017. The short-term heavy rainfall with daily values of 9.3 mm before the blockage event was also regarded as a factor. Both heavy rain and earthquake were triggering factors of the ice avalanche that led to the glacial debris flow. The glacier surface velocity of the Dongpu glacier simulated by Elmer/Ice model can reach 19 cm/d. This study has extensive applicability significance in glacier hazard mitigation under a changing climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influences of human activity on regional climate over China have been widely reported and drawn great attention from both the scientific community and governments. This paper reviews the evidence of the anthropogenic influence on regional climate over China from the perspectives of surface air temperature (SAT), precipitation, droughts, and surface wind speed, based on studies published since 2018. The reviewed evidence indicates that human activities, including greenhouse gas and anthropogenic aerosol emissions, land use and cover change, urbanization, and anthropogenic heat release, have contributed to changes in the SAT trend and the likelihood of regional record-breaking extreme high/low temperature events over China. The anthropogenically forced SAT signal can be detected back to the 1870s in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau region. Although the anthropogenic signal of summer precipitation over China is detectable and anthropogenic forcing has contributed to an increased likelihood of regional record-breaking heavy/low precipitation events, the anthropogenic precipitation signal over China is relatively obscure. Moreover, human activities have also contributed to a decline in surface wind speed, weakening of monsoon precipitation, and an increase in the frequency of droughts and compound extreme climate/weather events over China in recent decades. This review can serve as a reference both for further understanding the causes of regional climate changes over China and for sound decision-making on regional climate mitigation and adaptation. Additionally, a few key or challenging scientific issues associated with the human influence on regional climate changes are discussed in the context of future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon footprint (CF) research has attained tremendous popularity for improving the climate environment purposes. In particular, current energy use has been identified as the main cause of climate change. CF plays an irreplaceable role in managing energy use, reducing gas emissions, and improving climate change. The objective of this study was to review studies that have developed CF and to perform a bibliometric analysis using two key terms: "climate change" and "energy use". From bibliometric analysis using CiteSpace and VOSviewer, it was possible to establish a knowledge map of cooperative network structure and research evolution. We are aiming to reveal the main logical chain of CF research leading to climate change, to make up for the lack of current literature, and provide research inspiration for researchers. The research findings mainly focus on four aspects. First, the relevant research began in 2008 and is in a state of continuous rise. Second, due to the law of research development and the prominence of practical problems, related research has experienced a stage from conceptual methods to specific problems. Third, China and the USA assume an important role in which international cooperation is the overall trend. Fourth, related research can be divided into CF algorithm research, ecological environment management research, and specific cross-industry fields. In addition, possible opportunities for change in related research are explored. It is also suggested that the integration of CF with other footprints, when energy use and environmental change are fully considered, may become an important future research trend by providing a more comprehensive environmental impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current nationally determined contributions, pledged by the countries under the Paris Agreement, are far from limiting climate change to below 2 ∘C temperature increase by the end of the century. The necessary ratcheting up of climate policy is projected to come with a wide array of additional benefits, in particular a reduction of today's 4.5 million annual premature deaths due to poor air quality. This paper therefore addresses the question how climate policy and air pollution–related health impacts interplay until 2050 by developing a comprehensive global modeling framework along the cause and effect chain of air pollution–induced social costs. We find that ratcheting up climate policy to a 2 ∘ compliant pathway results in welfare benefits through reduced air pollution that are larger than mitigation costs, even with avoided climate change damages neglected. The regional analysis demonstrates that the 2 ∘C pathway is therefore, from a social cost perspective, a "no-regret option" in the global aggregate, but in particular for China and India due to high air quality benefits, and also for developed regions due to net negative mitigation costs. Energy and resource exporting regions, on the other hand, face higher mitigation cost than benefits. Our analysis further shows that the result of higher health benefits than mitigation costs is robust across various air pollution control scenarios. However, although climate mitigation results in substantial air pollution emission reductions overall, we find significant remaining emissions in the transport and industry sectors even in a 2 ∘C world. We therefore call for further research in how to optimally exploit climate policy and air pollution control, deriving climate change mitigation pathways that maximize co-benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change poses a potential risk to coastal infrastructure, thus threatening the economics or even the safety of human beings. Thus, a better understanding of the attitude of port organizations toward climate adaptation and mitigation is essential. This paper addresses this research gap by investigating 18 port organizations in China. The questions include the impediments and the impact of context, systems, and other factors on the implementation of adaptation strategies. The results indicate that port organizations are generally aware of climate change impacts and agree that some further steps are needed. However, policy support serves as a key factor in implementing adaptation plans. Apart from offering important insight on the attitude of port organizations, the study also serves as a platform for further research on climate adaptation planning in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the large-scale investments of both China and the EU in climate-change mitigation and renewable-energy promotion, the prevailing view on China-EU relations is one of conflict rather than cooperation. In order to evaluate the prospects of cooperation between China and the EU in these policy fields, empirical research has to go beyond simplistic narratives. This paper suggests a conceptual apparatus that will help researchers better understand the complexities of the real world. The relevant actors operate at different levels and in the public and private sectors. The main message of the paper is that combining the multilevel governance and value-chain approaches helps clarify the multiple relationships between these actors [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Central to global agreement on carbon emissions are strategic interactions amongst regions over abatement policy and the benefits to be shared. These are re-examined in this paper, in which benefits from mitigation stem from a meta-analysis that links carbon concentration with region-specific measures of economic welfare. Implementation costs are then drawn from a highly disaggregated model of global economic performance. Multiplayer games are then constructed, the results from which are sensitive to embodied temperature scenarios and discount rates but robustly reveal that the U.S. and China would be net gainers from unilateral implementation in net present value terms. The dominant strategy for all other countries is to free ride. Net gains to the three large economies are bolstered by universal adoption, which could be induced by affordable side payments. Yet the downside is that net gains to all regions are negative over two decades, rendering commitment to abatement politically difficult. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global climate changes have led to ocean acidification, ice and snow melting, a continuous rise in temperature, and an increasing frequency of extreme weather events, with profound impacts on the social economic system. With the aggravation from climate changes, even the industrial fields with a relatively strong resistance to climatic changes have also suffered serious losses. At present, the vulnerability of the industrial field is growing, and the absolute economic losses are increasing. The quantitative evaluation of these industrial economic losses is therefore an important basis for formulating policies to tackle global climate change, and analyzing the current research progress can provide ideas and methods for the effective evaluation of the industrial economy. Therefore, in this paper, we summarized both the positive and negative effects of climate changes on the industrial fields and found that the influences of climatic changes on different industrial sectors are slightly variable. For example, while the mining industry, so far, has positively responded to the changing climate, severe weather events such as storms, drought, and rain could severely impede the normal production and business operation activities of the mining industry in the future. The manufacturing industry mostly involves indoor jobs, which are relatively resistant to extreme weather events, and some industries have complex response mechanisms. In terms of the construction industry, its losses are mainly indirect through increased electricity costs. The production and supply industries for electricity, heat, and water would suffer transmission supply losses in extreme weather events; and as the largest carbon emission industries, the costs of emission reduction would affect the economic growth of this sector in the short term. Overall, the industrial sectors pay relatively high costs for climate change mitigation and adaptation, and therefore, the quantitative evaluation of industrial economic losses through models is crucial for both the development of reasonable policies and ensuring a smooth and consistent growth of the industrial economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coal is the primary source of China's carbon emissions due to the energy structure and its resource endowment. This reality creates enormous pressure and impetus for low-carbon pathways of coal production and consumption. Based on a literature review on carbon emissions accounting methods, this paper builds a source-driven CO2 emissions accounting model for the coal development sector using the emissions factor method. Scenario analysis is employed to predict future carbon emission equivalents and to indicate possible implications for climate change mitigation in this sector. Carbon emissions from coal development are mainly derived from coal mine gas emissions, which yield 62% of the sector's total carbon emissions, followed by energy consumption. The recent decline in coal mining-driven CO2 emissions is mainly due to the strict deployment of coal mine gas and the changing structure of coal mines. The results from the scenarios suggest that the carbon emissions reduction potential will largely be determined by technology innovation in the coal mine gas industry. Policy implications for further addressing carbon emissions from the supply side of the coal industry include improvements in energy efficiency and coal mine gas extraction and utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A CGE model elaborately depicting six CCS technologies was developed. • Impacts of four CCS incentive scenarios on decarbonization pathways were simulated. • CCS can sequester 960 ∼ 1,604 MtCO 2 annually in China by 2060 with policy incentives. • CCS incentives can reduce China's future primary energy demand by 7.7 ∼ 17.4 %. • CCS incentives can increase GDP by 5.64 ∼ 6.59 % compared to no policy scenario. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, considered as a pivotal tool in mitigating climate change within the fossil energy system, particularly in China, has experienced slower development than expected. The exploration of direct incentive policies to facilitate its growth remains relatively underdeveloped. This study developed a hybrid dynamic computable general equilibrium (CGE) model to simulate the substantial impacts of CCS incentive policies on China within the context of carbon neutrality target. Two potential incentive policies, carbon emission trading system (ETS) and 45Q tax credit, were simulated, with different sectoral coverage. The results indicate that CCS technologies can reduce carbon emissions by 960 ∼ 1,604 MtCO 2 annually by 2060 through the strategic implementation of these incentive policies. The 45Q tax credit demonstrates its effectiveness in promoting early-stage research and development (R&D) and demonstration of CCS, while the ETS policy facilitates the commercial development of CCS in the later stage of development. By 2060, the implementation of CCS incentive policies could potentially result in 7.7 ∼ 17.4 % reduction in China's primary energy consumption, 71.2 ∼ 82.7 % decrease in the carbon price of ETS and 5.64 ∼ 6.59 % increase in the GDP compared with the no-policy scenario. In addition, the sectoral output in various sectors and the welfare of urban and rural households also increase. This paper provides an important reference for the realization of China's carbon neutrality goal and the model framework can be applied to other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continued urban expansion (UE) has long been regarded as a huge challenge for climate change mitigation. However, much less is known about how UE affects carbon emissions (CEs), especially in the urban agglomerations of the Yellow River Basin (UAYRB), China. In this regard, this study introduced kernel density analysis, the Gini coefficient, and Markov chains to reveal the UE patterns and carbon emissions intensity (CEI) in the UAYRB at the county level, and explored the spatial heterogeneity of the impact of UE on CEI with the geographically and temporally weighted regression model. The results show that both CEI and UE in the UAYRB showed a steady growing trend during the study period. The kernel density of CEI and UE revealed that CEI in the UAYRB was weakening, while the UE rate continuously slowed down. The Gini coefficients of both CEI and UE in the UAYRB region were at high levels, indicating obvious spatial imbalance. The Markov transfer probability matrix for CEI with a time span of five years showed that CEI growth will still occur over the next five years, while that of UE was more obvious. Meanwhile, counties with a regression coefficient of UE on CEI higher than 0 covered the majority, and the distribution pattern remained quite stable. The regression coefficients of different urban landscape metrics on CEI in the UAYRB varied greatly; except for the landscape shape index, the regression coefficients of the aggregation index, interspersion and juxtaposition index, and patch density overall remained positive. These findings can advance the policy enlightenment of the high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Partnerships emerge as part of an environmental governance paradigm shift towards less hierarchical, more collaborative, and non-regulative steering arrangements. This paper examines the prevalence of partnerships in environmental governance on an urban level in a semi-authoritarian setting, by exploring climate initiatives in cities in China. The paper presents exploratory qualitative analysis of governance in urban China through analysis of a database of 150 climate initiatives in 15 cities, which are seen at the forefront of climate protection. The analysis suggests that climate partnerships are used as a governance strategy in China. Moreover, partnerships perform a range of essential governance functions, from rule-setting and provision of public infrastructure and services, to supporting technology development and low carbon demonstration projects. The results indicate that partnerships can facilitate local climate action by creating access to resources, such as information, technology, and funding, as well as contribute to introduction of emission reduction technology and new policy approaches. However, the inclusion of non-state actors in the formulation and delivery of climate mitigation projects redefines the lines of authority over public issues. This draws attention to two key governance challenges in the context of a comparatively state-controlled, top-down political system: skewed participation and lack of deliberative opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has implemented an emission trading system (ETS) to reduce its ever-increasing greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining rapid economic growth. With low carbon prices and infrequent allowance trading, whether China's ETS is an effective approach for climate mitigation has entered the center of the policy and research debate. Utilizing China's regional ETS pilots as a quasinatural experiment, we provide a comprehensive assessment of the effects of ETS on firm carbon emissions and economic outcomes by means of a matched difference-in-differences (DID) approach. The empirical analysis is based on a unique panel dataset of firm tax records in the manufacturing and public utility sectors during 2009 to 2015. We show unambiguous evidence that the regional ETS pilots are effective in reducing firm emissions, leading to a 16.7% reduction in total emissions and a 9.7% reduction in emission intensity. Regulated firms achieve emission abatement through conserving energy consumption and switching to lowcarbon fuels. The economic consequences of the ETS are mixed. On one hand, the ETS has a negative impact on employment and capital input; on the other hand, the ETS incentivizes regulated firms to improve productivity. In the aggregate, the ETS does not exhibit statistically significant effects on output and export. We also find that the ETS displays notable heterogeneity across pilots. Mass-based allowance allocation rules, higher carbon prices, and active allowance trading contribute to more pronounced effects in emission abatement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Global climate change is one of the major challenges facing the world today, and forests play a crucial role as significant carbon sinks and providers of ecosystem services in mitigating climate change and protecting the environment. China, as one of the largest developing countries globally, owns 60% of its forest resources collectively. Evaluating the carbon sequestration cost of collective forests not only helps assess the contribution of China's forest resources to global climate change mitigation but also provides important evidence for formulating relevant policies and measures. Results: Over the past 30 years, the carbon sequestration cost of collective forests in China has shown an overall upward trend. Except for coastal provinces, southern collective forest areas, as well as some southwestern and northeastern regions, have the advantage of lower carbon sequestration costs. Furthermore, LSTM network predictions indicate that the carbon sequestration cost of collective forests in China will continue to rise. By 2030, the average carbon sequestration cost of collective forests is projected to reach 125 CNY per ton(= 16.06 Euros/t). Additionally, there is spatial correlation in the carbon sequestration cost of collective forests. Timber production, labor costs, and labor prices have negative spatial spillover effects on carbon sequestration costs, while land opportunity costs, forest accumulation, and rural resident consumption have positive spatial spillover effects. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate regional disparities in the spatial distribution of carbon sequestration costs of collective forests, with an undeniable upward trend in future cost growth. It is essential to focus on areas with lower carbon sequestration costs and formulate targeted carbon sink economic policies and management measures to maximize the carbon sequestration potential of collective forests and promote the sustainable development of forestry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is related to survival and development of life on our planet. Researches have shown climate change has influenced many domains of China. Mitigation and adaptation are two main methods to tackle climate change. Mitigation can reduce the influence of climate change and adaptation can reduce fragility and sensitivity to climate change. Mitigation and adaptation are mainly realized by science and technology means at present. The paper collects patented technologies related to mitigation and adaptation and analyzes and describes the current situation of technology research with adaptation as main content and mitigation as auxiliary content. We include application domains and their scope and shortcomings of current technology. The content is expected to provide scientific support for development directions of future technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Clean Coal Technology is the property of Clean Coal Technology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The abnormity of climate change poses environmental concerns and indirectly promotes the development of low-carbon economic growth pattern. Climate change mitigation technology innovations contribute significantly to achieve environmental goals in China, and thus, technological cooperation has become a strategic choice for the Chinese provinces to achieve technological breakthroughs. Based on 3, 280, 808 patents, this study uses social network analysis (SNA) method and similarity measurement to discuss the evolution process and structural features of the spatial correlation network to analyze the patent data from 1985 to 2020. The process for the research is as follows. First, a form solution of the correlation problem to calculate the minimum Euclidean distance is available in the field of social network. Second, the European distance is used to measure the similarity between provinces, and then, SNA is used to construct the spatial correlation network. Finally, the similarity of growth trend of provincial patent applications in different years from a nonlinear perspective is described, so as to calculate the potential provincial linkage strength. The results demonstrate that low-carbon technology innovation in China takes the form of a network structure. The network exhibits significant characteristics of regional agglomeration, and several central provinces exert the role of mediation and transmission, such as Tianjin, Hubei, and Henan. The study contributes by illustrating the current situation of green technology innovation and provides a critical theoretical foundation for the government when formulating future low-carbon economy development policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achievement of national climate targets and the corresponding costs would entirely depend on regional actions within the country. However, because of substantial inequalities and heterogeneities among regions, especially in developing economies, aggressive or uniform actions may exacerbate inequity and induce huge economic losses, which in turn challenges the national climate pledges. Hence, this study extends prior research by proposing economically optimal strategies that can achieve national climate targets and ensure the greatest local and national benefits as well as regional equality. Focusing on the biggest developing country China, we find this strategy can avoid up to 1.54% of cumulative GDP losses for approaching carbon neutrality, and more than 90% of regions would obtain economic gains compared either with existing independently launched targets or with the uniform strategy that all regions achieve peak carbon emissions before 2030. We also provide optimal carbon mitigation pathways to regional peak carbon, carbon intensity and energy consumption. Aggressive or uniform actions on climate targets may exacerbate regional inequality and induce economic losses in China. The proposed collaborative strategy for carbon neutrality can avoid up to 1.54% of GDP losses while 90% of provinces would gain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on sustainable business models and climate change is the focus of this article, which examines the industry, business and sustainability which has attracted a lot of attention. Because of this, we are investigating the effects of implementing business sustainability capabilities using a multiple-case methodology. An original report on China's small- and medium-sized businesses provided the data for this study that examined the theoretical and empirical relationships between financial literacy, innovation and environmental conservation. We devised a conceptual model to demonstrate the impact of corporate sustainability skills and competencies on climate change. Endogeneity concerns connected to financial literacy, innovation and ecological sustainability necessitate the employment of an instrumental variable for climate change. After adjusting for individual and firm characteristics, we found that financial literacy may substantially impact a company's sustainable business model. The findings suggest that financial literacy may boost company innovations by relieving financial restrictions and enhancing corporate governance, both of which contribute to the development of sustainable businesses that assist in increasing climate change mitigation efforts. On the other hand, innovation has a more significant influence on low-leverage companies. There was also a lot of talk about climate change, greenhouse gas emissions and climate change in the business context. This research, therefore, sheds light on how business sustainability capabilities and competencies might improve a company's environmental performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the impacts of global climate change, paths for sustainable development are of particular importance. Biochar has multiple advantages, including but not limited to climate change mitigation, waste management, soil fertility improvement, and pollution remediation. Forest soils play a significant role in terrestrial ecosystems. The application of biochar in forest soils (ABFS) is therefore considered an essential tool for improving soil quality, capturing carbon, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The Web of Science Core Collection database was utilized for the bibliometric analysis of ABFS publications published between 2002 and 2022. Three bibliometric software were used to analyze bibliometrics, networks, and research directions for ABFS: Bibliometrix, VOSviewer, and CiteSpace. The analysis shows that research on ABFS is always rapidly developing. Research on ABFS is engaged globally in a complex network of collaborations, and the main research has occurred in China and the United States. Collaboration among authors is relatively diffuse. Research on ABFS involves interdisciplinary integration. In the early stages of research, the origin of biochar (history and boreal forests) and its characteristics (dynamics, nitrogen content, and chemical composition) were the focus of attention. As research progressed, more attention was given to ABFS (carbon, organic matter, vegetation, and heavy metals). Our research shows that while ABFS research has a certain history, its development trend has been consistently upward and shows no signs of declining. Thus, future research will likely concentrate on ABFS. Due to the complexity of biochar functions, ample research opportunities exist in ABFS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

History instructs us that electrical power can be decarbonized in less than a dozen years with combinations of renewable and nuclear energy, but exaggerated fears of the latter have made it too costly and unpopular to develop and deploy in much of the world, allowing Russia and China to capture the nuclear export market. If humanity is genuinely serious about rapid decarbonization to avoid the worst health and climate risks, it will need to take steps to rapidly improve and deploy both nuclear and renewable energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, to improve air quality, significant efforts have been made to reduce regional aerosols including China, Europe and North America, which have potential impacts on climate. In this study, fast and slow climate responses in China to changes in domestic and foreign anthropogenic emissions of aerosols and precursors from 2013 to 2019 are investigated using the Community Earth System Model version 1 (CESM1). Aerosol emissions changes, especially reductions in China, North America and Europe, during 2013–2019 resulted in surface air temperature increases across the Northern Hemisphere. Global aerosol changes induce a regional warming of 0.2 °C in China, equally contributed by domestic and foreign emissions changes. China's domestic emission reductions lead to a regional average temperature rise of 0.1°C, primarily driven by rapid atmospheric adjustments over eastern China. Foreign aerosol changes, particularly reductions in North America and Europe, also contributed to a 0.1°C warming in China through slow oceanic processes. This warming in China induced by foreign aerosol changes is due to a teleconnection between the aerosol-induced anomalous regional warming in Eastern U.S.-North Atlantic Ocean-Europe and the downstream East Asian climate through anomalous wave trains propagation. The comparable influence of domestic and foreign aerosol changes on climate in China underscores the importance of international collaboration in climate mitigation endeavors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities are facing considerable challenges resulting from imminent climate change impacts. Urban planning to minimise adverse impacts of climate change at the city level can establish a climate-resilient city. Mitigation strategies to reduce CO2 emissions would lead to a climate-friendly city. Integrating climate change adaptation and mitigation into sustainable city planning should not be merely added as a single level of sustainable city planning, but requires a wide range of multi-level cooperation. Lijiang City has experienced climatic change during the last half century, and its CO2 emissions have increased faster than the GDP growth. Nearby glaciers on Yulong Snow Mountain have been retreating and losing mass since the early twentieth century. In this paper, we identify economic sectors that are vulnerable to climate change, including tourism, agriculture and water supply, and propose mitigation and adaptation strategies to cope with climate change in this tourism city. As energy use is the largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, renewable energy has enormous CO2 reduction potential. Land use practices, a sectoral approach and public participation are all considered adaptive in climate planning. The proposals outlined are valuable as they provide an understanding of how to implement integrated climate planning and integrate climate change mitigation and adaptation into sustainable city planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we discuss a range of issues concerning developing country participation in current global climate change mitigation negotiations, especially India and China. We argue that the problem of redefining 'common yet differentiated responsibilities' in a way which allows developing countries room to pursue their individual development goals while still achieving the necessary level of carbon mitigation is central to the debate. The choice of negotiating instruments, effective technology transfer and financial support, and other related issues have been raised principally by China and India, and may also be raised by several other countries. Kyoto non-compliance by Annex 1 countries will also greatly impact the negotiating power of China and India and other developing countries. We conclude that, once basic principles are clearly defined, the greatest incentive for China and India to participate in climate change negotiations is the prospect of future negotiating rounds that can be linked to a large number of climate change related issues, such as intellectual property, the potential for financial transfers and trade/market access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding future climate change is crucial for securing and managing water supplies necessary for agricultural activities in China, particularly in rainfed agriculture regions. This paper evaluates the projected climate change for nine major agricultural zones in China, using ensembles of regional climate models (RCMs) simulated under the Coordinated Regional Downscaling Experiment-East Asia second phase (CORDEX-EA-II) framework. The simulations were conducted for two climate scenarios (RCP2.6 and RCP8.5) at a 25 km grid spacing, with three RCMs (RegCM4, REMO, and WRF) driven by multiple CMIP5 global climate models (GCMs). The study compares the RCM simulations to the driving CMIP5 and the recent CMIP6 ensembles, focusing on surface temperature, precipitation, and surface relative humidity for the present day (1981–2010), mid-future (2036–2065), and far future (2070–2099) periods. The model evaluations indicate that the GCM and RCM simulations are consistent with observations, with RCMs showing better performance than the driving GCMs. The results show that both GCMs and RCMs project increased temperature and precipitation in most agricultural zones of China in the future, with the CMIP6 ensembles projecting the largest temperature increase and the CORDEX-EA-II ensemble showing the finest spatial details. Relative humidity is projected to decrease over major rice-producing areas of South China in the CORDEX-EA-II, CMIP5, and CMIP6 ensembles. This study provides valuable information to support climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts in China, particularly in the agricultural sectors. • CORDEX-EA-II simulations demonstrate better model performance over China. • Temperature and precipitation are projected to increase in the future. • Relative humidity is projected to decrease over South China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding future dry and wet changes under global climate change is of great regional significance in China. Based on six Global Climate Models (GCM) from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6 (CMIP6), we project the changes of dry‐wet climate regions in China in the 21st century under the three SSP‐RCP (shared socioeconomic pathway‐representative concentration pathway) scenarios (SSP1‐2.6, SSP2‐4.5 and SSP5‐8.5), and further identify the key climatic factors that lead to the transition of dry‐wet climate regions. The results show the area of humid and subhumid regions in China will show an upward trend in the future, while the area of semiarid and arid regions will show a downward trend. Especially under the SSP5‐8.5 scenario, the area of the subhumid region has the largest increase trend (0.042% per year), and the area of the arid region has the largest decline trend (−0.048% per year). The three main transfer directions of dry‐wet climate regions are from arid to semiarid regions, from semiarid to subhumid regions, and from subhumid to humid regions in the future. Due to the future extensive wetting trend in the north, the future dry‐wet climate regions will shift to wetter types in Tibet, North China, the Qinling‐Huaihe regions and the northeast. In addition, the key climatic factors for the transition of dry‐wet climate regions are mainly precipitation, maximum temperature and solar radiation. The increase of precipitation plays a dominant role for areas projected to change to wetter types, and the increase of potential evapotranspiration (PET) plays a dominant role for areas projected to change to drier types. The PET changes in changed areas of dry‐wet climate regions are mainly dominated by maximum temperature and solar radiation. Our research has important implications for future water resource management and reconsideration of climate mitigation and adaptation policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming has become one of the major threats to the security of human survival, security, and sustainable development. Agricultural production has been widely suspected as one of the main sources of anthropogenic carbon emissions. Analyzing the changing characteristics and influencing factors of agricultural carbon emissions is of great significance for the mitigation of global climate change and the sustainable development in agriculture. Taking China, a large agricultural country, as an example, this study used the empirical model to quantify carbon emissions from agricultural inputs from 1991 to 2019, and analyzed the driving factors using ridge regression. We found that agricultural carbon emissions in China have been on the rise in the past 30 years, but at a markedly slower pace. From 2008 to 2019, the average annual growth rate of agricultural carbon emissions was 1.47%, down significantly from 2.92% between 1991 and 2007. The carbon emissions per unit of planting area showed an overall increasing trend, which grew from 179.35 t ce/km2 to 246.26 t ce/km2, with an average annual growth rate of 1.13%. The carbon emissions per unit of agricultural output mainly showed a decreasing trend, which decreased from 0.52 kg ce/CNY to 0.06 kg ce/CNY, with an average annual rate of change of −7.42%. China's agricultural carbon emissions were closely related to macro-policies. Fertilizer inputs, agricultural industry structure, and energy use intensity were significantly positively correlated with carbon emission intensity. The degree of urban feedback to rural areas, public investment in agriculture, and large-scale planting were significantly negatively correlated with carbon emission intensity, but the impacts of these factors had a "lag effect". In order to reduce carbon emissions from agriculture and promote development in green agriculture, we suggest that the government should further increase the degree of urban feedback to rural and public investment in the agricultural sector. In addition, large-scale agricultural production should be encouraged to increase resource efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ambitious goals to limit global warming can only be reached with a broad acceptance and participation of the general public. This paper relies on surveys among citizens in China, Germany and the U.S. and investigates the determinants of the acceptance of national and international adaptation and mitigation efforts. The empirical findings indicate that specific beliefs and environmental awareness are important drivers in all three countries, while political attitudes and socio-economic characteristics are the main sources of cross-country heterogeneity. The study thereby points at important starting points and target groups for raising the acceptance of national and international climate policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Given the increasing attention to climate change and rising CO2 (CCRC) in the global carbon cycle, we remain unclear about how China's unprecedented land use/cover change (LUCC) in the carbon budget has been affected by CCRC in recent decades. Here, we combined remotely sensed land use/cover (LUC) datasets and the Biome‐BGCMuSo model to address this issue by setting different scenarios. We found that LUCC led the carbon sink to increase by approximately 104.24 ± 46.52 Tg C without considering CCRC during 1990–2020. Carbon sinks contributed by afforestation (374.97 ± 36.50 Tg C) and grassland planting (15.75 ± 9.11 Tg C) offset other LUC trajectories caused carbon loss (286.47 ± 32.18 Tg C, 87.33% owing to agricultural reclamation). LUCC contributed carbon sinks were amplified by ∼20% under CCRC at the national scale. This rate increased to 106.03% in northeast China but decreased to −26.68% in southern China. CCRC led carbon sink contributed by afforestation amplified by 85.11% in northeastern China but was only 26.35% in southern China. CCRC amplified carbon emissions due to agricultural reclamation by 103.20% in northeastern China and by 25.09% in southern China. Our results demonstrated that ecological restoration projects are efficient in enhancing carbon sinks and mitigating emissions. Divergent amplifying/reducing effect of CCRC across different geographic regions implied the sensitivity of different LUC trajectories to CCRC varied with different climate backgrounds. Land management strategies should be implemented with spatial heterogeneity to amplify afforestation and grassland planting contributed carbon sinks and decrease other LUC trajectories caused carbon loss under the global change environment. Plain Language Summary: It is undoubted that climate change and rising CO2 (CCRC) would alter the effect of land use/cover change (LUCC) on the carbon budget. However, to what extent CCRC will influence the effect of LUCC on the carbon budget remains unclear. In this work, we evaluated the impact of CCRC on the carbon budget change caused by LUCC. We found that CCRC would amplify or dampen the impact of LUCC on the carbon budget. Meanwhile, this amplifying or dampening rate was divergent in different geographic regions. Our work provides new insights for making climate change mitigation targeted land decisions to increase carbon sinks with ecological restoration and construction and reduce emissions through protection. Key Points: Afforestation and grassland planting offset other land use/cover change (LUCC) caused carbon loss and continue to increase carbon sinkClimate change and rising CO2 (CCRC) amplified China's LUCC contributed carbon sinks by approximately 20%CCRC amplified carbon sink induced by LUCC in northeastern China, reduced it in southern China [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historical changes and possible future projections of temperature extremes in China, in terms of return values of annual extreme temperatures, are examined based on daily maximum and minimum temperatures from station observations and multiple models of the fifth and sixth phases of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP). The observations suggest that increases in temperature extremes are largely attributable to the changing mean climate, while the varying natural variability also has an important impact, which depends on the index of the variability. The models simulate warm extremes reasonably well but underestimate the spatial heterogeneity and temporal trend of cold extremes in China. In comparison, Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) models have higher skill in simulating temperature extremes in China, showing smaller biases and intermodel variability. MRI‐ESM2‐0 and NorESM2‐LM from CMIP6 and GFDL‐ESM2M and NorESM1‐M from CMIP5 are selected as reference models based on the better performance in reproducing observed temperature extremes in China. In the future, projections from CMIP6 multimodel ensemble (MME, represented as the multimodel median) and reference models all show a continued uptick in temperature extremes, with statistically significant increases in warm extremes mainly in the north and increases in cold extremes prominent in most parts of China. Different individual models, which have similar historical simulations, yield divergent future trends of temperature extremes, which may be associated with different climate sensitivities of models. In addition, MME usage should be treated with caution since its smoothing on spatial heterogeneity and possible information from poor models. Plain Language Summary: Given the serious hazards of extreme temperature events, understanding changes in extreme temperatures and effectively predicting their future changes are critical to climate mitigation and adaptation. According to station observations and model data from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) and 6 (CMIP6), we find besides the varying temperature mean, the varying temperature variance also has an important impact on changes in extreme temperatures, and CMIP6 models have overall better performance than CMIP5 models in reproducing changes in extreme temperatures in China. Our results also emphasize that good performances in historical simulation cannot guarantee better projections in the future and projections of extreme temperatures from the multimodel ensemble sacrifice the spatial heterogeneity relative to individual reference models. Key Points: The impact of the varying natural variability on changes in temperature extremes depends on the variability indexCMIP6 models perform better than CMIP5 in simulating temperature extremes changes in ChinaMultimodel ensemble projections of extreme temperatures sacrifice spatial heterogeneity [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China’s commitment to the UNFCCC to peak its emissions by 2030, or sooner, signaled a long anticipated shift in China’s model of development with far reaching consequences. Cities in China, and particularly the residential sector in cities, will be charged with making significant reductions in emissions growth even as rates of urbanization continue to climb. Focusing on Beijing and Shanghai, this paper carries out a measures-based economic analysis of low carbon investment opportunities in the residential sector. Results find significant opportunity: between 2015 and 2030, BAU levels of CO 2 emissions could be reduced by 10.2% in Beijing and 6.8% in Shanghai with the adoption of economically attractive low carbon measures. While these headline results underline the case for low carbon investment in the residential sectors of these megacities in China, a closer analysis provides insights for understanding the economics of decarbonisation in cities more generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate justice is a concept with many different and competing interpretations. It has salience at intra-country, inter-country and intergenerational levels of climate politics. While inter-country climate justice has long been on the agenda of United Nations climate negotiations, the intra-country and intergenerational aspects of climate justice have assumed new prominence in many countries in recent years, as the economic consequences of mitigation became felt and transnational activism highlighted youth concerns. The diverse elements of and approaches to climate justice have this in common: realising them requires massive financial interventions and reforms. This article examines the still emerging frameworks to finance climate justice in two of the jurisdictions most important to the global response to climate change: the European Union and the People's Republic of China. The EU and China have in common that they are both on the front line of financial innovation to respond to climate change. They are utilising similar tools of systemic financial intervention in order to transition financing to climate-friendly investment, in the first case domestically, but with clear implications for global financial markets. However, the EU and China are utilising climate financing mechanisms in the context of very different prevailing perspectives on climate justice. This article interrogates the relationship between these different perspectives on climate justice and the distribution, scale and pace of climate finance. The article also observes that while the EU incorporated climate justice considerations in its economic responses to the COVID-19 pandemic with a recovery package prioritising climate action, China did not take the opportunity to foster a 'green recovery'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many countries have taken stringent climate policies to minimize the risks by climate change. But these policies could burden households and the poor with the extra costs and threaten their wellbeing. However, the consequences of climate policies on poverty and welfare loss are seldom presented in stringent long-term climate change mitigation projections. Carbon pricing is a cost-effective approach; how it affects households varies among countries. This study investigated the distributional effects and poverty implications of carbon pricing in China during the transition towards carbon neutrality and the Paris Agreement's long-term goals. We assessed multiple poverty and equity standards in future scenarios with a newly developed integrated assessment model. It was found that climate change mitigation efforts would not greatly hinder poverty alleviation in China, with the poverty headcount under the $3.2/cap/day-threshold being less than 0.3 million people in 2050 in most scenarios. A carbon tax became a regressive factor mainly due to price increases in food and energy goods. This indicates that the distributional effects on carbon pricing should be considered. For example, supplementary policies that compensate for price changes, such as subsidies and early mitigation actions, that lead to modest price increases in the long term are worthy of consideration as valid instruments for the just transition towards the 2 °C or even 1.5 °C pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper looks at the current state of multilateral development banks (MDBs) for climate change measures and the funding status of those invested in mitigation technology in order to briefly review the current outcome of the technology transfer and financial support. In other words, the aim of this study is to collect and analyze information about the current status of total investment in the field of technology for mitigating GHGs (Greenhouse Gases) from MDBs and identify implications of the status. In this study, a screening technique has been used three times to make a database for project information in the field of mitigation of climate change. So far, based on the finalized DB (Database), mitigation technology projects supported by MDBs have been investigated; based on the result, a connected analysis has been conducted between MDBs, mitigation technology, and countries. According to the derived current status, project support in renewable energy and energy demand areas turned out to be the highest at 75% of the entire mitigation technology. Rather than the renewable energy and energy demand areas where climate technology projects have frequently been performed throughout the world, it was confirmed that long-term climate technology projects for GHG fixation were being performed. According to the results of comparison and analysis of countries with high GHG emissions and their centrality, centrality turned out to be high in the field of GHG fixation in China, the country with the highest GHG emissions. This seems to indicate that countries emitting a substantial amount of GHGs will invest more on projects in the field of GHG fixation as well as on projects on renewable energy. Thus, this study is expected to contribute to understanding the trends of climate technology projects for coping with climate change and using them in establishing future policies on climate technology. In addition, it is expected to be used as a reference for countries with insufficient investment in climate technology despite the high Climate Risk Index (CRI). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's newly announced carbon neutrality goal manifests its determination to advance green and low-carbon development. The country aims to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. Consequently, guidelines and action plans have been actively deployed and issued. The carbon neutrality commitment (vision) and its detailed deployment (action) would contribute to climate change mitigation and corporate market value. Therefore, we categorize the carbon neutrality-related events and analyze their impacts on the stock market from July 2020 to March 2021. The main findings are as follows: (1) The action event have increased the carbon neutrality-related stocks by 0.04%, while that of the vision event is – 0.003%, indicating that investors' confidence increases when the carbon neutrality commitment is accompanied by specific and detailed guidelines. (2) The impact of carbon neutrality announcement becomes more positive and significant after related events occur repeatedly. (3) Carbon neutrality-related power industry and state-owned enterprises are potential beneficiaries of this decarbonization goal. Our study supplements the literature on climate policy and its economic value, potentially contributing to the next stage of global decarbonization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article undertakes a systematic study of press articles on climate change in the rich West (Norway), the emerging East (China) and the developing South (Ghana) to explore the cognitive basis for collective climate policy action. Newspapers depict Ghana moving out of a climate-victimhood towards a more active climate policy for development; China figures as spearheading energy efficiency and clean technologies for growth; while Norway is described as exporting its climate action. Our analysis finds little common ground for climate mitigation through binding climate emission limits and carbon pricing. A pluralistic 'green growth' strategy would have greater chances of success. The article also highlights differences in sources and story types: Norway features much enterprising journalism, and academics are the dominant source. In China and Ghana most articles are routinized, with politicians and public officials dominating in China, whilst the press makes heavy use of international sources in Ghana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ten-Thousand Enterprises Program is China’s keystone energy conservation and climate change program. The program has effectively created a class of energy-intensive enterprises that are regulated by the government for energy conservation purposes. Through an empirical study conducted in Changchun, this paper shows that the adoption of energy efficiency technologies and practices has been highly uneven in this class of enterprises because of two reasons. First, a de facto two-tier regulatory system has emerged within the framework of the Ten-Thousand Enterprises Program. Central state-owned enterprises are closely regulated by the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) which is a central government apparatus, whereas local state-owned enterprises and privately owned enterprises are regulated by the local government, which has fewer resources and incentives to implement the program rigorously. Second, the Ten-Thousand Enterprises Program bundles together different types of enterprises. This approach places smaller enterprises at a disadvantage and limits their ability to conserve energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Forest ecosystems play an important role in carbon sequestration, climate change mitigation, and achieving China's target to become carbon (C) neutral by 2060. However, changes in C storage and net primary production (NPP) in natural secondary forests stemming from tree growth and future climate change have not yet been investigated in subtropical areas in China. Here, we used data from 290 inventory plots in four secondary forests [evergreen broad-leaved forest (EBF), deciduous and evergreen broad-leaved mixed forest (DEF), deciduous broad-leaved forest (DBF), and coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest (CDF)] at different restoration stages and run a hybrid model (TRIPLEX 1.6) to predict changes in stand carbon storage and NPP under two future climate change scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5). Results: The runs of the hybrid model calibrated and validated by using the data from the inventory plots suggest significant increase in the carbon storage by 2060 under the current climate conditions, and even higher increase under the RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 climate change scenarios. In contrast to the carbon storage, the simulated EBF and DEF NPP declines slightly over the period from 2014 to 2060. Conclusions: The obtained results lead to conclusion that proper management of China's subtropical secondary forests could be considered as one of the steps towards achieving China's target to become carbon neutral by 2060. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest ecosystem carbon (C) storage primarily includes vegetation layers C storage, litter C storage, and soil C storage. The precise assessment of forest ecosystem C storage is a major concern that has drawn widespread attention in global climate change worldwide. This study explored the C storage of different layers of the forest ecosystem and the nutrient enrichment capacity of the vegetation layer to the soil in the Castanopsis eyeri natural forest ecosystem (CEF) present in the northeastern Hunan province, central China. The direct field measurements were used for the estimations. Results illustrate that trunk biomass distribution was 48.42% and 62.32% in younger and over-mature trees, respectively. The combined biomass of the understory shrub, herb, and litter layers was 10.46 t·hm−2, accounting for only 2.72% of the total forest biomass. On average, C content increased with the tree age increment. The C content of tree, shrub, and herb layers was 45.68%, 43.08%, and 35.76%, respectively. Litter C content was higher in the undecomposed litter (44.07 %). Soil C content continually decreased as the soil depth increased, and almost half of soil C was stored in the upper soil layer. Total C stored in CEF was 329.70 t·hm−2 and it follows the order: tree layer > soil layer > litter layer > shrub layer > herb layer, with C storage distribution of 51.07%, 47.80%, 0.78%, 0.25%, and 0.10%, respectively. Macronutrient enrichment capacity from vegetation layers to soil was highest in the herb layer and lowest in the tree layer, whereas no consistent patterns were observed for trace elements. This study will help understand the production mechanism and ecological process of the C. eyeri natural forest ecosystem and provide the basics for future research on climate mitigation, nutrient cycling, and energy exchange in developing and utilizing sub-tropical vegetation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To connect a wide range of research communities including climate change mitigation and adaptation activities, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 6th assessment report (AR6) employs the Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP) scenarios. The CORDEX East Asia calls for a dynamical downscaling of climate change projections under the new SSP scenarios. In this study, the state-of-the-art regional climate model RegCM4 with a horizontal resolution of 25 km was used to dynamically downscale future climate changes, which were derived from the global climate model FGOALS-g3, under multiple SSP scenarios over the CORDEX East Asia Phase II domain. Compared to the driving global model FGOALS-g3, the downscaling exhibited added value in the simulation of present-day mean and extreme rainfall over China in terms of both spatial pattern correlation and biases. The largest improvements were found over the Pearl River Basin and the Yangtze River Basin. For the period of 2081–2100 under the SSP2-4.5 scenario, the areas in China with increases in the projected mean and extreme rainfall generally overlapped with the areas with substantial climatological mean and extreme rainfall in both RegCM4 and FGOALS-g3, which highlights the importance of simulated climatology in projecting future rainfall changes. The moisture budget analyses indicated that the projected increases in summer mean rainfall were mainly attributed to thermodynamic processes associated with the increased moisture. The mean and extreme rainfall was most sensitive to the increased emission scenarios in the Northwest Interior River Basin and least sensitive in southern China. From SSP1-2.6 to SSP5-8.5, larger fractions of land area and population would be affected by greater increased and more intense rainfall. If the emissions were reduced from SSP5-8.5 to SSP1-2.6, over 80% of the impacts would be avoided over most regions in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

State and local climate action has played a prominent role in the global response to climate change. Rather than waiting for national action, states like California have surged ahead. This is not simply a U.S. phenomenon. Still, not all jurisdictions are engaged in emissions reductions, and some are actively recalcitrant. What prompts some state and local governments to take action while prompting others to resist? This Article makes several contributions to understanding state and local climate policies. First, prior efforts have generally had a U.S. focus. We broaden the scope of the inquiry to include the two leading Asian economies. Second, we make use of a jifty-state survey of recent state climate and energy initiatives in the United States rather than focusing on a few prominent jurisdictions like California. Third, rather than concentrating on activist jurisdictions, we discuss the full range of stances on energy policy, from the leadership of states like California in the United States and cities like Shenzhen in China to the resistance of some rural areas of the United States, China, and Japan to climate action. We identify important economic, demographic, and geographic drivers of climate and energy policies in these diverse jurisdictions. Finally, we propose a new way Of conceptualizing subnational climate action based on the peer production model used to create important digital resources. Like some open-source software and projects such as Wikipedia. important parts Of global climate policy have been constructed by sub-nationals through a self-organized, bottom-up effort. This kind of "peer production" has previously been described in the private sector, but it may play an underappreciated role in the sphere of public policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]