Tag: Climate change

Flooding expected in China’s Guangdong, threatening millions

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BEIJING —  Major rivers, waterways and reservoirs in China’s Guangdong province are threatening to unleash dangerous floods, forcing the government Sunday to enact emergency response plans to protect more than 127 million people. Calling the situation “grim,” local weather officials said sections of rivers and tributaries at the Xijiang and Beijiang river basins are hitting water levels in a rare spike that only has a one-in-50 chance of happening in any given year, state broadcaster CCTV news said Sunday. China’s water resource ministry issued an emergency advisory, CCTV reported. Guangdong…

Beijing Records Most Hours of Sub-Zero Temperatures in December Since 1951

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BEIJING —  China’s capital Beijing has broken its record for hours of sub-zero temperatures in December dating back to 1951, after a cold wave swept swathes of the country and brought blizzards in its wake, sending temperatures towards historic lows. Northern and northeastern parts of the country have experienced a record-breaking chill since last week, with some areas in the northeast hitting minus 40 Celsius (minus 40 Fahrenheit) and below as biting cold air flowed down from the Arctic. As of Sunday, a weather observatory in Beijing had recorded more…

India, China Break Ranks at COP28 on Target for Renewables

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dubai, united arab emirates —  Widespread satisfaction over a pledge for the world to transition away from fossil fuels was tempered at COP28 by the failure of China and India — the world’s most populous nations — to endorse a related promise to triple their sources of renewable energy by 2030. Experts attending the global climate conference that concluded Wednesday in Dubai said China was reluctant to sign onto the pledge because it has already had a major expansion in renewables in the past few years, making the goal of…

China, Biggest AC Producer, Snubs Global Pledge at COP28

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DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES —  More than 60 countries signed onto a pledge to sharply reduce cooling-related carbon emissions at COP28 this week. China — the world’s largest producer of air conditioners — wasn’t one of them. The agreement announced Wednesday at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Dubai seeks to reduce cooling-related emissions by 68% by 2050 compared to 2022 levels. Cooling accounts for one-fifth of the world’s electricity consumption and is expected by the U.N. Environment Program to double by 2050. About one-third of the world’s population is…

Can China Achieve its Nuclear Energy Ambitions?

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BERLIN —  Organizers of the coming COP28 climate conference, believing nuclear energy must play a role in weaning the world off fossil fuels, are likely to be comfortable with Chinese plans to make nuclear power a major part of its energy future. While high-profile accidents at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima have tarnished the image of nuclear power in much of the world, China — the world’s biggest carbon emitter — is pressing ahead with ambitious plans for new nuclear construction. Beijing has approved at least 21 new power…

Kerry: US and China Have ‘Some Agreement’ on Climate Issues

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U.S. climate envoy John Kerry said talks this week with his Chinese counterpart resulted in “some agreement” on climate issues that leave him optimistic about the U.N. climate summit scheduled for later this month in Dubai. Speaking at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore, Kerry said Friday that he met for four days this week with Chinese climate envoy Xie Zhenhua in California. He described their talks as “productive” and, without providing details, said they had reached “some agreement on reducing emissions and the direction we have to go.”…

China Is Winning in Solar Power, but Its Coal Use Is Raising Alarms

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China is installing about as many solar panels and wind turbines as the rest of the world combined, and is on track to meet its target for clean energy six years early. It is using renewables to meet nearly all of the growth in its electricity needs. Yet there is another side to that rapid expansion, one that is causing consternation in Washington at a critical period of climate diplomacy: China is also building new power plants that burn coal, the dirtiest of the fossil fuels, at a pace that…

Marathoners in Beijing Go Maskless, Unfazed by Smog 

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BEIJING —  Runners undeterred by thick smog engulfing the Chinese capital ran the Beijing Marathon maskless on Sunday, many wearing shorts in one of the warmest Octobers on record. Despite a greyish brown smog settling, some 30,000 marathoners set off at 7:30 a.m. (2330 GMT) from Tiananmen Square on the route through four districts of the Chinese capital over 42.195 km (26.2 miles). Beijing was the second most-polluted major city in the world on Sunday, according to Swiss air-quality technology firm IQAir. In the Haidian district on Beijing’s outskirts, the…

California Governor Newsom Meets China’s President Xi

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BEIJING —  California Governor Gavin Newsom met Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday to discuss climate change, raising hopes that China and the United States can find common ground ahead of an APEC summit and COP28 climate meeting next month. Xi and U.S President Joe Biden are expected to meet at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco in November, although the meeting has not been confirmed. Newsom told reporters after the meeting that he had an opportunity to focus more deeply and substantively on the issue of climate…

California Governor to Visit China Amid Efforts to Stabilize Bilateral Ties

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TAIPEI, TAIWAN —  U.S. state of California Governor Gavin Newsom begins his weeklong visit to China Monday, traveling to six Chinese cities and meeting national and provincial officials to talk about climate policies and potential partnerships. “California and China hold the keys to solving the climate crisis,” Newsom said in a statement released by his office on October 18. “As two of the world’s largest economies, our partnership is essential to delivering climate action for our communities and beyond.” Some analysts say Newsom’s trip is a continuation of California’s longstanding…