Chinese Delegation Holds Adaptation Day in Durban

Climate experts on Thursday gathered on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa, to discuss China's strategy of climate change adaptation and exchange lessons learned from multinational cooperation on the issue.

Emanuele Cuccillato, a senior consultant with the Sino-UK-Swiss Adapting to Climate Change in China project, said China's experience in with the ACCC project provides positive lessons for the whole world.

Being vulnerable to climate change, China is an adaptation hotspot. But due to the cross-disciplinary nature of climate change adaptation and the range of parties involved in policymaking, communicating efficiently can be difficult, Cuccillato said.

"The Chinese government has made substantial efforts to adapt to climate change, including adjusting China's agricultural structure and controlling soil erosion and desertification," Xu Yinlong, a research fellow with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said.

But more efforts are required, Xu said. China needs to adopt a more active strategy to minimize losses caused by shifts in its climate, he said.

It is hard to define concrete targets of climate change adaptation plans, as the goal posts tend to shift across fields and with economic development, Xu said. With its large population and rapidly growth, China has significant exposure to the threat of climate change. Therefore, the task of climate change adaptation is more urgent in China.

Xu's opinion was echoed by Ma Zhongyu, deputy director of the Development and Reform Commission in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

Ma said the most important standard should be achieving sustainable development without degrading natural resources or the environment.

Pursuing economic development and poverty eradication by destroying the environment is not a sustainable model. We should enhance local people's living standards while improving the environment, Ma said.

As a climate change demonstration zone, Ningxia has taken a leadership role in China's efforts since the ACCC was launched in June 2009. The project, a joint venture of China, the UK and Switzerland, aims to foster pioneering policy research in climate change adaptation.

Ningxia had adopted a number of innovative climate policies. In recent years, it launched a massive ecological migration plan to move residents to areas with more hospitable climates. Over the next five years, it hopes to move another 350,000 local residents. This migration improves residents' quality of life and helps restore the local ecosystem.

Other projects include improving management of water resources, exploring new agricultural technology and strengthening environmental education efforts.

Of course, there are challenges for Ningxia. The major challenges are financing, water shortages and poor awareness of the issue, Ma said, adding that more support is needed to achieve the project's goals.

"We have come to Durban to present China's efforts to the international community," Ma said. "Many developed countries refuse to sign on to a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol or transfer technology to developing countries. But as a responsible developing power, China has done its part."