Suggestions on China’s capacity building in response to climate change in the “post-Paris” era

Abstract

Climate change presents an important environmental challenge that is being addressed by the global community. The socio-economic efforts to address climate change involve both international and domestic economic transformation, industrial upgrading, infrastructure protection, and disaster prevention and mitigation, amongst other considerations. In particular, capacity-building is a prerequisite for both participating in global climate governance and for targeting domestic response measures. After the Paris Agreement, global climate governance has entered the new so-called “post-Paris” era. Changes to the United States’ global climate policy have exacerbated the complexity of global climate governance, but domestic actions by stakeholders at the national or sub-national level are still striving toward the goals agreed to in the Paris Agreement. In particular, China faces significant challenges in addressing climate change impacts in both global mitigation efforts and domestic adaptation needs. Here, we identify areas shortcoming in capacity building for China that are targeted for improvement in the “post-Paris” era. Firstly, advances in the basic scientific research capacity of China to study climate change should focus on climate change detection attribution, prediction and impact assessment. One specific approach includes the development of climate system models along with the improvement of the comprehensive climate observation system should be implemented to improve fundamental research on climate related topics. Secondly, it is necessary to further enhance China’s climate adaptation capacity, particularly targeting adaptation goals for agriculture and urbanized areas as well as improving risk assessment and management of for already-occurring disasters. Thirdly, the development of a comprehensive understanding and support system for policy makers that can be used to integrate climate change responses into China’s international and domestic policies is critical for formulating effective mitigation and adaptation efforts. Fourthly, efforts should also be taken in building and enhancing a clear legal system that addresses emerging challenges in mitigation and adaptation. To address many of the above challenges, improvements and expansions also need to be made to strengthen the national expertise in relevant professional fields of climate change, so as to effectively support the pertinence, specialization, refinement, and aptitude in developing strategies for the many climate change-related challenges facing China. Lastly, enhancements in public outreach, awareness and education on climate change will help the public to consciously practice many of the capacity-building efforts being developed, including adopting the concept of green and low carbon in their daily life.