Nation plays key role in climate change debate

Heat wave alerts

China has acknowledged that its climate is changing rapidly.

In July, alerts were issued as a heat wave affected many areas. Scorching temperatures were recorded in Liaoning, Jilin and Hubei provinces, Chongqing and the Xinjiang Uygur and Inner Mongolia autonomous regions, Xinhua News Agency reported on July 31.

The China Meteorological Administration said July was hotter and wetter than usual.

Shanghai had an 11-day heat wave that month, the longest recorded in the city in 145 years, Xinhua reported on July 29. A temperature of 40.9 C was recorded in the city on July 21, the highest since local meteorological records began.

For countries such as China, climate change has become a major challenge, especially in urban centers where air pollution has reached critical levels.

Nicolas Pechet, a partner at Solidiance, an Asia-focused corporate strategy consulting company in Shanghai, said, "China's central government leadership is keenly aware that poor environmental conditions can severely affect social stability and migration of the wealthiest citizens."

The country's economy has already entered the new normal, featuring more moderate economic growth, a greater focus on the quality of growth, and a move away from heavy manufacturing, Pechet said.

Its industrial sector has underpinned modern economic development, which accounts for more than 70 percent of the country's energy consumption.

The 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) specifies a 15 percent reduction in energy consumption intensity and an 18 percent drop in carbon dioxide emissions intensity, while boosting forest coverage to more than 23 percent of the total land area.