A man trying to catch fish from a partially dried-up pond in Xinchang County, Zhejiang Province. (Photo : Reuters)
The China Meteorological Administration (CMA) said on March 23, Monday, that temperature in the country has been rising up twice the rate of the world's since the middle of the 20th century, as the government reiterated its plan to prioritize the reduction of greenhouse gas emission and adapt to climate change.
The announcement was made on the day that coincides with the World Meteorological Day.
Zheng Guoguang, head of the CMA, was quoted by chinadaily.com as saying that the temperature has increased by 0.23 degrees Celsius every 10 years since the middle of the 20th century, which is twice as fast as the rest of the world.
According to Zheng, the rise in temperature has cost China's GDP around 1 percent, eight times as much as the rest of the world, since 2000.
The Chinese official said that the warming climate has greatly affected agricultural production, the condition of water supplies, and the safety of projects that are of primary importance, which include the South-North Water Diversion Project and the Three Gorges Dam.
In recent years, China has expressed determination to prioritize the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
The government's top economic planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), released in Nov. 2014 the national framework on climate change adaptation, considered to be the country's first strategic move on the climate change issue with a national scope.
Part of the NDRC blueprint includes the reduction of CO2 emissions per unit of GDP by about 40 to 50 percent by 2025.
In November last year, China signed an agreement with the U.S., promising to limit its greenhouse gas emission by 2030 and increase by around 20 percent the number of renewable energy source in proportion to primary energy consumption.
