An opportunity for China to combat climate change

Climate change is impacting livelihoods and lives at an accelerating rate. Therefore, in Asia, the Lancelot Countdown Regional Center which is connected to the Tsinghua University had out taken a health profile assessment on China’s climate change with a goal of achieving quick health responsive actions. The organisation created five domains with 25 indicators for the first annual update in 2021. The five domains include: exposures and vulnerability, resilience for health mitigation actions, adaptation, planning, climate change impacts, economic and finance, mitigation and health-co benefits, and political and public engagement. Five new indicators methods have been improved and peaked in national and provincial levels to facilitate policy making and local understanding. This report researched by Cai, Chi Zang, Zang, Ai, Bai and Boa reflected on the green recovery of China taking into account the effects of COVID-19. The report also considered health for current and future generations as well as goals around carbon neutrality.

The report constructed by Lancelot Countdown Regional Center shows that the health threats in China are worsening due to climate change. Statistics show that, “in 2020, the heatwave exposures per person in China increased by 4·51 days compared with the 1986–2005 average, resulting in an estimated 92% increase in heatwave-related deaths. The resulting economic cost of the estimated 14 500 heatwave-related deaths in 2020 is US$176 million (indicators 1.1.1 and 4.1.1). Increased temperatures also caused a potential 31·5 billion h in lost work time in 2020, which is equivalent to 1·3% of the work hours of the total national workforce, with resulting economic losses estimated at 1·4% of China's annual gross domestic product.” Further, the actual population of fires in 20 provinces had increased from 2001 to 2016. Moreover, floods have increased in China but due to there being a reliable emergency response, the number of people affected by the floods has decreased. The 2020 and 2021 floods have shown a reverse side of the progress in combating climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has a sixth assessment report that states that climate change will increase in the next few decades. This statement is supported by statistics, “even if mitigation efforts limit global temperature rise to 1·5°C, which emphasises the necessity of health adaptation.”

China regionally is affected by specific health threats, which relies on local socioeconomic and environmental conditions. The most detrimental health threats are labour loss, Sichun Province has flood and drought risks, Guangdong province has dengue risks, rising heat-related mortality and Jilin and Liaoning has wildfire exposures. By identifying the risks, policies can be put in place to improve climate adaptation responses with regards to  efficiency and effectiveness. 

The set goals of China on carbon neutrality during COVID-19 has increased awareness and news coverage of climate change and public health in China. The awareness that has been made, however, was not enough to implement strong actions for mitigation and adaptation and the indicators also show a mixed progress. 

The planned adaptation measure calls for urban green spaces, which an assessment has been out taken in 2020, followed by the health emergency management in 2019. Further, the findings of urban green spaces show “urban green space, which is an important heat adaptation measure, has increased in 18 of 31 provinces in the past decade, and the capacity of China's health emergency management increased in almost all provinces from 2018 to 2019.”

China is set to have peak emissions before 2030 and a long-term goal by 2060 to achieve carbon neutrality. There was a time that environmental actions were arising in China with regards to clean energy, the steadily decreasing carbon intensity. The research also reflected on the environmental conditions during the COVID-19 period, “Despite the shock of COVID-19, low-carbon investments still increased from 2019 to 2020, which are now 9·5 times higher than those of coal, and fossil fuel subsidies in 2019 were 40% lower than in 2018, reversing the upward trend that was seen during the previous 3 years”. China has ambitious goals to reduce air pollution as, “the premature deaths due to exposure to ambient particulate matter of 2·5 μm or less (PM2·5)” is declining. Further, “China announced strict control on coal-fired power plants in April, 2021, which will greatly benefit both carbon mitigation and air pollution control. Despite the worldwide call for a green recovery, after a steep but temporary drop in the first quarter of 2020, the overall carbon emissions in China increased by 1·28% in 2020.”

The COVID-19 period has started to make the health policy makers reflect on what has happened and starting to focus on a “National Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention to improve overall public health”. Further, China's National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy in 2035 is being designed by macroeconomic planners and climate policy makers to achieve economic recovery as a short-term goal and carbon neutrality as a long-term goal. The researchers further stated that the risk of decisions made in isolation is that China might not fully realise the health and economic benefits of addressing the pandemic alongside tackling climate change, which is likely to be a larger global public health threat than COVID-19 in the long run. Therefore, the researchers in this study propose four recommendations for the key stakeholders in health and climate change in China.

The first proposal

“The first proposal is to promote systematic thinking in the related departments and strengthen multi departmental cooperation. Given the huge gap between current global climate commitment and the 1·5°C target, the potential health benefits of climate change mitigation, and the health threats from climate change (even with 1·5°C of warming), addressing health threats from climate change requires long-term and compound efforts in both mitigation and adaptation.”

The second proposal

“The second proposal is to do additional assessments of the health impacts of climate change and make national and region-specific adaptation plans. It is necessary to include clear goals and timelines for climate-related health impact assessments and health adaptation plans at both the national and the regional levels in the National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy 2035”

The third proposal

“The third proposal is to strengthen China's climate mitigation actions and ensure health is included in China's pathway to reach carbon neutrality.”

The fourth proposal

“The fourth proposal is to increase awareness of the linkages between climate change and health at all levels. Health professionals, the academic community, and traditional and new media should raise the awareness of the public and policy makers on the important linkages between climate change and health.”

These four proposals will aid China in making clear decisions and to take action against climate change.

This report researched by Cai, Chi Zang, Zang, Ai, Bai and Boa showed that there is a mixed progress in the adaptation and mitigation responses in combating climate change. Climate change is causing health risks in China and the researchers foresee that it would worsen in the years to come. The current four proposals outlined in the paper will enable China to take action and leadership in combating climate change before it is too late. The final message that the researchers have to share is that, After the painful lessons from COVID-19, this important opportunity to protect the health of people in China, both now and in the future, cannot be missed.”