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The three challenges with the greatest bearing on Australia's security and prosperity each came to a head in 2020, viz. climate change; a novel coronavirus pandemic; and China. The world has become poorer, more dangerous and more disorderly. As we emerge from this crisis year, Australia's ability to project itself globally will start with its strength and vitality at home. Its favourable geography gives it the potential to become a leader in renewables. Given our geopolitical challenges, this is a strategic imperative. Yet, for now, the gap between reality and expectations has never been greater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bioeconomy model provides an alternative view of global economic systems by putting sustainable practices combined with digital approaches at the forefront to tackle issues such as climate change. To address this new business trends, financial institutions began to set up the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) business units to evaluate their business strategies. This paper is aimed at examining the nonfinancial effect created by the digital transformation (DT) activities, highlighting the role of enterprise heterogeneity after the implementation of Environmental Protection Law (EPL) in China. We employ the panel data of A-share listed companies from 2010 to 2020, selecting DT and ESG indicators as the important representations of "Industry 5.0." Our empirical results demonstrate a positive impact of EPL on the ESG performance in sight of resource enterprises (REs), environmental enterprises (EEs), and polluting enterprises (PEs), but a negative impact of EPL on the DT indicators among those environmental related industries. Additional causal relationship regression reveals that enterprise DT has an intrinsic promoting effect on the ESG performance, emphasizing on the high risk of digitization process being the shock transmitters to enterprise nonfinancial indices. Notably, the connectedness of environmental policy illustrates dynamic patterns by parallel trend test and propensity score matching (PSM) DID regression. This paper is prone to benefit lawmakers, regulators, and firm executives responsible for analyzing and assessing enterprise digitization behavior by exploring the influence of macrolevel environmental policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a conceptual and analytical framework of states' legitimacy-seeking to comprehensively investigate the motivation behind China's climate and environment policy. While previous research has largely overlooked political factors that underlie China's climate policy, this paper argues that these factors are crucial in understanding China's policy changes, which are evident at both domestic and international levels. By examining sources such as government documents, leaders' speeches and authoritative literature, this study contends that China's climate change initiatives are part of a broader effort to enhance domestic and international legitimacy. The issue of climate change has become highly politicised in China under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, and it serves as a crucial test of the ruling party and the state's capacity to govern effectively. As such, legitimacy-seeking is the key driver that links China's domestic measures and international commitments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploring the complex relationship between population change and surface urban heat island (SUHI) effect has important practical significance for the ecological transformation development of shrinking cities in the context of the prevalence of urban shrinkage and the global climate change. This paper compares the population change and SUHI effect between population shrinking region (Northeast Region, NR) and population growing region (Yangtze River Delta, YRD) in China, and explores their differences in driving mechanisms, using GIS spatial analysis and Geodetector model. Our results indicated that there are significant differences in population changes and SUHI intensity between these two regions. About 72.22% of the cities in the NR were shrinking, while their SUHI intensities increased by an average of 1.69°C. On the contrary, the urban population in the YRD shows a linear growth trend, while their SUHI intensities decreased by 0.11°C on average. The results of bivariate Moran's I index also indicated that the spatial correlation between the urban population changes and the SUHI intensity changes are not significant in the above regions. Furthermore, there are significant differences in the primary drivers of SUHI variations between these two regions. In the NR, underlying surface changes, including the changes of green coverage and built-up areas, are the most important driving factors. However, atmospheric environment changes, such as carbon dioxide emission and sulfur dioxide emission, are the key drivers in the YRD. Northam's theory of three-stage urbanization and environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis are powerful to explain these differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electric vehicles (EVs) are widely recognized as low-carbon transportation that adopts green and clean technology with contributing to mitigating global climate change. However, it appears that the practice in using EVs has not gained widespread popularity despite the promotion of various incentives with the presence of various restricting factors and challenges. In conducting this study in the context of China, we hypothesize that restricting factors have varying impacts on promoting EVs in China, where the adoption of EVs is of great potential. This paper identifies these restricting factors by applying AHP-FCE integrated approach, and these factors are classified into five dimensions, namely, technical, infrastructural, economic, governance and social. The results indicate that the top five restricting factors are security issues, limited driving range, long charging time, improper distribution of charging stations and lack of sharing between charging piles respectively. Our research contributes to a better understanding of EV restricting factors and their significance, which offers the assistance in the formulation of policies and decisions in order to promote effectively EVs in China. • The promotion of EVs is of great potential in China for mitigating global climate change. • Explore the RFPEVs in China using AHP-FCE integrated approach. • The RFPEVs in China can be classified into five dimensions, namely, technical, infrastructural, economic, governance and social. • The technical and infrastructural related are the most important constraints. • The main three important restricting factors are security issues, limited driving range, long charging time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Altay Prefecture, a typical arid region in northwestern China, has experienced the climate transition from warming-drying to warming-wetting since 1980s and has attracted widespread attention. Nonetheless, it is still unclear how climate change has influenced the distribution of vegetation in this region. In this paper, a reaction–diffusion model of the climate–vegetation system is proposed to study the impact of climate change (precipitation, temperature and carbon dioxide concentration) on vegetation patterns in Altay Prefecture. Our results indicate that the tendency of vegetation growth in Altay Prefecture improved gradually from 1985 to 2010. Under the current climate conditions, the increase of precipitation results in the change of vegetation pattern structures, and eventually vegetation coverage tends to be uniform. Moreover, we found that there exists an optimal temperature where the spot vegetation pattern structure remains stable. Furthermore, the increase in carbon dioxide concentration induces vegetation pattern transition. Based on four climate change scenarios of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6), we used the power law range (PLR) to predict the optimal scenario for the sustainable development of the vegetation ecosystem in Altay Prefecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing food waste is an important initiative to ensure food security and mitigate climate change. Previous studies have largely ignored the influence of reference points on food waste behavior and the role of human-to-human relational interactions, failing to capture their role in guiding residents' food waste behavior (RFWBs). To address this gap, this study proposes a model that examines the role of reference dependence, normative internalization, and symbolic expectations in RFWBs, while introducing network embeddedness as a moderating variable. Using data collected from 981 respondents online, ordinary least squares were used to test the hypotheses. The results showed that reference dependence and normative internalization had a positive effect on reducing RFWBs with regression coefficients of 0.178 and 0.293 respectively, while symbolic expectations also had a positive effect on RFWBs with a regression coefficient of 0.227. Additionally, Network embeddedness played a significant moderating role in reference dependence, normative internalization, and symbolic expectations with RFWBs. This paper is theoretically innovative and the relevant findings fill the current research gap in the field of food waste, providing guidance and reference for government departments to formulate policies and promote residents to implement food waste reduction behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a novel aviation CO 2 emissions reduction method by introducing a market-based incentive mechanism. An aviation carbon emissions prediction model is proposed to characterize both the microscopic flight dynamics and the macroscopic air traffic demand trend. Based on emissions prediction, a linear climate response model is applied to evaluate the environmental impact of the aviation carbon emissions. Finally, a market-based framework for aviation CO 2 emissions reduction is established based on a two-phase carbon trading model, which provides a piecewise charge method through emission taxation and cap-and-trade. A case study is carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework using a real-world dataset from the Hefei Air Traffic Control Zone in China. Three scenarios are defined to describe the possible development speed of sustainable aviation fuel application in the future: not applied, medium-speed development, and high-speed development. The results show that the carbon peak will be reached in 2025 in the high-speed development scenario, when the emission amount and associated environmental impact will be reduced by 23.7% and 22.3%, respectively. Thus, the market-based framework proposed in this paper can effectively reduce aviation CO 2 emissions and mitigate the effects of global warming. • An aviation CO 2 emissions prediction model is proposed considering both microscopic flight dynamics and macroscopic traffic demand. • A more efficient market-based CO 2 emission reduction framework is developed based on a two-phase carbon trading model by means of taxation and cap-and-trade. • Case study shows that the proposed method has a more optimal incentive for CO 2 emission reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agro-pastoral ecotone of northern China is the prominent area for agricultural production, but it is also the most typical ecological fragile area with frequent drought disasters. Taking Yulin City at Shaanxi Province in China as the case area, the paper aims to investigate the spatio-temporal changes of agricultural vulnerability to drought in China's agro-pastoral ecotone in the period 2000 to 2020. The results show that: 1) the agricultural vulnerability to drought in Yulin City has shifted from high vulnerability in the period 2000–2010 to low vulnerability in the period 2011–2020. 2) There exist obvious spatio-temporal differences of the agricultural vulnerability to drought in Yulin City during the research period. 3) Four sensitive events and 14 resilient events were identified in the research and the crops of Yulin had become more resilient to drought. Finally, the paper put forward with policy implications to make adaptive strategies of agriculture to climate change in China's agro-pastoral ecotone in the future, e.g., carrying out agricultural zoning based on agricultural production conditions, intensifying the construction of disaster prevention and relief system, and integrating with modern agricultural technology to develop new type agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has established three rounds of low-carbon pilot city initiatives. However, a gap exists between policy making and successful implementation, and the effects on greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction were found to be different among pilots. This paper considers the question of how low-carbon policies in cities can be implemented effectively and how policy combinations are adopted for GHG emissions reduction. It uses a mixed research approach, including Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and field investigation in Pilot Y (situated in the southwest China). The results show that, first, financial support and monitoring systems are necessary conditions, while political leadership is a sufficient condition. This means that the absence of financial support or monitoring systems could lead to increased GHG emissions, while the presence of political leadership always promotes the reduction of GHG emissions but may not be sufficient on its own to achieve them. Second, the target responsibility system (TRS) – a system used by higher government levels to assess the policy implementation of lower government levels – and human resource mechanisms cannot effectively lead to the promotion of GHG emissions reduction. Finally, in the absence of TRS and human resource mechanisms, environmental information disclosure (EID) was found to effectively promote low-carbon urban development by encouraging public participation. This paper reveals the complexity of the implementation of low-carbon policies in cities, identifies the link between city-level and national action, and enriches the theoretical explanation of governance and low-carbon policy implementation gaps in China. Key policy insights China's low-carbon pilot city project is critical for reducing GHG emissions, however, the effects of the low-carbon pilot city programmes varied greatly. Financial support and monitoring systems are necessary conditions, while political leadership is a sufficient condition to achieve cities' GHG emissions reduction goals. Local low-carbon development is limited and not put into practice at the city level in China, in part because of the absence of financial support and limited political attention. This study highlights the key conditions of organizational behaviour at the meso-level, and enriches the theoretical explanation of environmental policy implementation gaps in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) is an important strategic area in China. However, frequent extreme precipitation events have caused great economic losses and human casualties in this region. In this article, we explore the spatial and temporal links between extreme precipitation events and Sunspot Number (SSN), El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Arctic Oscillation (AO) and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) in this important economic belt. According to the research findings, all of the extreme precipitation indices (EPIs) except for consecutive dry days (CDD) and consecutive wet days (CWD) showed an upward trend in the YREB over the 59 years. The spatial distributions of very wet days (R95p), extremely wet days (R99p), max 1-day precipitation amount (Rx1day) and max 5-day precipitation amount (Rx5day) had similar distribution patterns, showing decreasing trends from east to west. The EPIs generally had a 2–4-year band, suggesting stronger and more elusive changes. The wavelet coherence (WTC) spectra suggested that SSN, ENSO, AO, and PDO have different effects on extreme precipitation events during different time periods. Before 1985, the SSN, ENSO, AO, PDO and extreme precipitation events shared similar oscillation periods, but after 1985, their oscillation periods were no longer consistent with each other. In addition, solar activity and the AO mainly had negative correlations with extreme precipitation events, while the ENSO and PDO had predominantly positive correlations with the EPIs. This paper provides a reference for national economic strategic planning and natural resource management in the YREB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: After almost 10 years, people wonder if green finance has been able to attain its objectives in terms of controlling climate change. Persistent global warming and climate deregulation manifested by melting glaciers, droughts and floods, are all of these determinants that have called into question the efficiency of green finance. Design/methodology/approach: Green finance is a way to support climate action through investments. It has proven that this is a viable financial instrument and that it can be used by governments and private companies to plan for the future of our planet. Findings: Based on an analysis of articles published in top international journals from 2016 to 2022, about the relationship between green technology and financial services in China, this paper aims to present an overview of green finance, its importance for the planet, its objectives and its instruments. Research limitations/implications: This study's contribution is to shed light on the aspects that may have limited its effectiveness, such as the absence of incentives, the absence of climate costs and above all the absence of finance green standards. Originality/value: The results have shown that there is still a significant gap in green finance before inclusive green growth can be achieved. Inclusive green growth. All stakeholders need to increase the level of investment in green finance. The green investment financing gap is the result of inconsistencies in sustainability and policies. Therefore, governments must intervene to impose appropriate policies and regulations to compel the financial sector to engage in sustainable development. All of these factors make the concept of green finance just an illusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in patterns of meteorological parameters, like precipitations, temperature, wind, etc., are causing significant increases in various extreme events. And these extreme events, i.e., floods, heatwaves, hurricanes, droughts, etc., lead to a shortage of water resources, crop failures, wildfires, and economic losses. However, Global Circulation Models (GCMs) are considered the most important tools for quantifying climate change. Therefore, we selected 20 different GCMs of precipitation in our research, as the frequency of extreme events, like drought and flood, is highly related to changes in precipitation patterns. However, this research introduced a new weighting scheme — MCFSAWS-Ensemble: Monte Carlo Feature Selection Adaptive Weighting Scheme to Ensemble multiple GCMs, whereas, Monte Carlo Feature Selection (MCFS) is one of the most popular algorithms for discovering important variables. However, the proposed weighting scheme (MCFSAWS-Ensemble) is mainly based on two sources. Initially, it evaluates the prior performance of each GCM model to define their relative importance using MCFS. Then, it computes value by value difference between the observed and simulated model. In addition, the application of this paper is based on the monthly time series data of precipitation in the Tibet Plateau region of China. In addition, we used twenty GCMs from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) to analyze the implications of the MCFSAWS-Ensemble. Further, we compared the performance of the MCFSAWS-Ensemble scheme with Simple Model Averaging (SMA) through Mean Average Error (MAE) and correlation statistics. The results of this research indicate that the proposed weighting scheme (MCFSAWS-Ensemble) is more accurate than the SMA approach. Consequently, we recommend the use of advanced machine learning algorithms such as MCFS for making accurate multi-model ensembles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are many types of atmospheric heat engines in land-air systems. The accurate definition, calculation and interpretation of the efficiency of atmospheric heat engines are key to understanding energy transfer and transformation of land-air systems. The atmosphere over the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) in summer can be regarded as a positive heat engine. The study of the heat engine efficiency is helpful to better understand land-air interaction and thermal-dynamic processes on the QTP. It also provides a new perspective to explain the impact of the QTP on the climate of China, East Asia and even the world. In this paper, we used MOD08 and ERA5 reanalysis data to calculate the atmospheric heat engine efficiency, surface heat source and atmospheric heat source on the QTP in summer (May to September) from 2000 to 2020. The average atmospheric heat engine efficiency on the QTP in summer from 2000 to 2020 varies between 1.2% and 1.5%, which is less than 1.6%; the heat engine efficiency in summer is higher than that in June, July and August; the Qaidam Basin is the region with the highest atmospheric heat engine efficiency, followed by the western QTP. The mean surface heat source on the QTP in summer from 2000 to 2020 is 96.0 W m−2, the atmospheric heat source is 90.7 W m−2, and the release of precipitation condensation latent heat is the most important component of the atmospheric heat source on the QTP in summer. There is a strong and significant positive correlation between the atmospheric heat engine efficiency and the surface heat source on the QTP in summer. The precipitation con densation latent heat is the most important component of the atmospheric heat source in summer and can reflect the precipitation process. There is a strong and significant negative correlation between the atmospheric heat engine efficiency and the atmo spheric heat source on the QTP in summer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concurrent compound dry and hot events (CDHEs) amplified more damange on the ecosystems and human society than individual extremes. Under climate change, compound dry and hot events become more frequent on a global scale. This paper proposes a mathematical method to quantitatively attribute changes of CDHEs to changes of precipitation, change in temperature and change in the dependence between precipitation and temperature. The attribution is achieved by formulating the total differential equation of the return period of CDHEs among Meta-gaussian model. A case study of China is devised based on monthly precipitation and temperature data during the period from 1921 to 2020 for 80 major river basins. It is found that temperature is the main driving factor of increases in CDHEs for 49 major river basins in China, except for the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River. In West China, precipitation changes drove the increase in CDHEs in 18 river basins (23%), particularly in parts of North Xinjiang, Qinghai and Gansu. On the other hand, dependence between precipitation and temperature dominated changes of CDHEs in 13 river basins (16%) of China with other factors, including parts of South China, East China and Northwestern China. Furthermore, changes in both the mean and spread of precipitation and temperature can also contribute to changes in CDHEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of climate change on asphalt pavement infrastructure has become increasingly apparent. This paper investigated how climate change impacts the selection of asphalt binder for freeway pavement in China. The climate data predicted by the Global Climate Model were employed to select the appropriate performance grade for asphalt binder. The predicted air temperature converted pavement temperature, and performance grade distribution of the country was analysed. It is suggested that the performance grade of asphalt binder for freeways' pavement should be determined based on ten years' predicted climate data. This study concluded the following four major findings. Firstly, the selection of the appropriate asphalt binder performance grade needs to take into account the effects of future climate change. Secondly, the change in the standard deviation of temperature has a greater impact on the change in asphalt performance grade, as compared to the change in average air temperature. Thirdly, climate change affects the low-temperature performance grade more than the high-temperature performance grade in China. Finally, by 2050s, 15.2% of freeway asphalt pavement needs to upgrade high-temperature performance grade limit, and 17.3% of freeway asphalt pavement needs to upgrade to low-temperature performance grade limit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Steel sheeting is usually provided at the upper flange of purlin in steel roof with screw connections. The resulting diaphragm effect provided by the sheeting enhances the buckling resistance of the purlin. However, this diaphragm effect will be reduced due to any abnormality in the screw connection caused by wind-induced fatigue particularly from typhoon. This would reduce the buckling resistance of the purlin with sheeting (the purlin-sheeting system), and it would affect subsequent condition evaluation during their service life. This problem is addressed in this paper with a framework of time-dependent reliability evaluation of the buckling limit state of the purlin-sheeting system. The buckling resistance reduction due to the degradation of the diaphragm effect from typhoon is taken into account in the resistance model. The randomness of wind intensity and landfall occurrence of typhoon during the service life of purlin are also accounted for in the wind load effect model. The time-dependent reliability of the purlin at different positions of a roof is studied. Then the variation of reliability of the system due to the effect of climatic changes in the design service life is discussed. The proposed strategy is then applied to the evaluation of a purlin-sheeting system in eleven cities in China with typhoon occurrences with some useful results for future studies in the provisions of the design code. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The long-standing development pattern dominated by international circulation makes China face the risk of "low-end lock-in" and "being decoupling". In addition, the current global climate change and environmental crisis are becoming increasingly severe, coupled with the COVID-19 impact. Chinese enterprises must actively build a green development system for domestic industries in a mutually reinforcing manner in the context of the domestic general circulation, in order to adapt to the new dual circulation environment as soon as possible. This paper analyzes the specific coupling and coordination relationship between the two systems based on the relevant data of China's three major industries from 2008–2014 using Index DEA, entropy value method, gray correlation analysis and coupling coordination model. The results of the study show that: the two systems of dual circulation pattern and industrial green development have a strong correlation and basically present a coupling relationship, but within the industry, there is a problem of the collapse of the tertiary industry. In terms of the type of coupling, the domestic and international circulation in general gradually present the green development leading state, except for the primary industrial segment of the international circulation. On the whole, the coupling quality of the two systems needs to be further improved. Based on this, this paper puts forward the following suggestions: (1) coordinate the internal and external development of the industry; (2) take innovation as the driving force to promote the green transformation of industries; (3) take green sharing as the goal to strengthen the policy orientation of green development; (4) take the opportunity of mutual promotion of dual circulation to stabilize the steady state of green development coupling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assuming responsibility for emission reduction is an important part of participating in the global governance of climate change. Countries with a carbon neutrality target now cover about 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Carrying out fairness evaluations of their carbon neutrality targets provide a strong basis for the global carbon inventory. In this paper, the target years of carbon neutrality for major countries and regions under the global target of 2 °C and 1.5 °C are studied using the burden sharing model. On this basis, this paper simulates the possible pathways of carbon neutrality and evaluates the ambition of emission reduction targets in terms of annual emission reduction, per capita emission, and cumulative per capita emission. The results show that, from the perspective of equity, most of the developing countries cannot meet the global goal of 1.5 °C. The United States and the European Union nations could achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 by continuing their annual emission reductions under their existing NDC targets. However, to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, China's annual emission reduction rate from 2030 to 2050 will be 6.7%, and the annual amount of emission reduction accounts for 51% of the global amount under the 1.5 °C target. Meanwhile, China would become the main force behind global cumulative emissions in the following decades. Thus, the emission reduction pathways China chooses will have an important impact on global climate mitigation progress. Based on the above research conclusions, this paper proposes that developed countries and developing countries should explore bilateral or multilateral cooperation in technology and finance in the field of climate change. Under the great pressure to achieve carbon neutrality, China needs to carry out research on the overall emission reduction pathways as soon as possible and clarify the paths at the scale of sectors, industries, provinces, and time stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Henan Province is the birthplace of Chinese civilization and one of the earliest human settlements, which means that the area has an important national cultural heritage. Traditional villages are an important facet of this cultural heritage, and studying their spatiotemporal characteristics in different periods has important theoretical and practical significance for the sustainable development and protection of cultural heritage in the region. This paper takes the traditional villages of the Yellow River basin in Henan Province that were formed before 1919 as the research object. Information on the ancient river was obtained through a literature search as well as via field research, and the important tributaries of the Yellow River in different periods were mapped using ArcGIS 10.0 software. The nearest neighbor index, kernel density estimation, standard deviation ellipse and other methods were adopted to analyze the spatiotemporal characteristics of the traditional villages. The factors that influenced the evolution of traditional villages were explored in depth by combining changes in the course of the river and water conservancy projects. The results show that the formation of traditional villages along the Yellow River in Henan Province has experienced a historical track of growth, contraction, growth and prosperity and stability. The traditional villages along the Yellow River in Henan Province generally show a clustered pattern, forming a dense concentration of traditional villages in the middle reaches of the Yellow River. The center of gravity shows a migration trend from southeast to northwest. In terms of influencing factors, the spatiotemporal evolution of the relationship between villages and their distance to water is closely related to climatic fluctuations, changes in channel, water conservancy projects and social and cultural factors. This paper deepens our understanding of the relationship between traditional village evolution and watersheds by improving the consistency between village spatial distribution and historical geography and provides a useful theoretical reference for the sustainable development of China's traditional villages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Affected by global warming, the frequency of crop pests and diseases have increased, causing huge losses to agricultural production. To better grasp the development and trends of research on the effects of climate change on crop pests and diseases, the literature on the impact of climate change on crop pests and diseases published from 1990 to 2021 in the Web of Science (WOS) core collection database was used. This study explores the literature characteristics and hotspot evolution through the bibliometric visualization analysis software COOC, VOSviewer, and CiteSpace, with a view to identifying the changing characteristics and trends of research changes in this field. The results showed that the number of literature on the impact of climate change on crop pests and diseases increased rapidly. The main fields involved include environmental sciences, ecology, and agronomy. Papers in these fields mainly published in journals, such as PLos One, Forest Ecology and Management, and Frontiers in Plant Science. The country with the highest number of publications was the United States, followed by China and Australia. The most prolific authors in the top 20 are research scholars from China. The first author of the top 20 highly cited papers was from the United States. It was found that that current research on the impact of climate change on crop pests and diseases mainly focuses on agricultural production and food safety. Modelling and crop growth has maintained steady development. At present, research in this field mainly focuses on pest management strategies under the impact of climate change, the response of single species, and the complex ecological mechanisms behind the response. This study provides unique insights into the research field of the impact of climate change on crop pests and diseases and provides a reference direction for future research development in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of climate change on asphalt pavement infrastructure has become increasingly apparent. This paper investigated how climate change impacts the selection of asphalt binder for freeway pavement in China. The climate data predicted by the Global Climate Model were employed to select the appropriate performance grade for asphalt binder. The predicted air temperature converted pavement temperature, and performance grade distribution of the country was analysed. It is suggested that the performance grade of asphalt binder for freeways' pavement should be determined based on ten years' predicted climate data. This study concluded the following four major findings. Firstly, the selection of the appropriate asphalt binder performance grade needs to take into account the effects of future climate change. Secondly, the change in the standard deviation of temperature has a greater impact on the change in asphalt performance grade, as compared to the change in average air temperature. Thirdly, climate change affects the low-temperature performance grade more than the high-temperature performance grade in China. Finally, by 2050s, 15.2% of freeway asphalt pavement needs to upgrade high-temperature performance grade limit, and 17.3% of freeway asphalt pavement needs to upgrade to low-temperature performance grade limit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The politics of international finance for coal power plants have intensified since the 2015 Paris climate agreement was negotiated. Over the past few years, Japan and South Korea have signaled their intent not to fund new coal projects overseas, leaving China and its Belt and Road Initiative as the 'financier of last resort.' In September 2021, China too announced its intent to stop providing finance for overseas coal projects. What accounts for their decision to cease financing overseas coal projects despite prominent differences in political systems, degree of internationalization of their financial systems, and economic size? Drawing on datasets of coal projects and financing supplemented by case material and interviews, this paper explores the dynamics of coal export finance and how the combination of international reputational pressures and declining demand for coal finance diminished the domestic support for incumbent coal exporters in all three countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changing climate has altered the trends and variability of precipitation and temperature globally and thereby increasing the risk of natural and social disasters, especially in coastal climatic transitional zones such as the Huaihe river basin (HRB). This paper applies the Empirical Quantile Mapping (EQM) method for bias correction and systematically evaluates the performance of the 30 Global climate models (GCMs) of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6 (CMIP6) in simulating precipitation and temperature over the Huaihe river basin (HRB) for 1979–2014. A suitable multi-model ensemble subset (BMME) is selected based on the Euclidean Distance (ED) synthetic metric. Results show that in comparison to the baseline period 1995–2014, precipitation (temperature) over HRB is projected to increase at the rate of around 15 mm/decade (0.1 °C/decade), 16 mm/decade (0.3 °C/decade), 20 mm/decade (0.5 °C/decade), and 15 mm/decade (0.6 °C/decade) for the period 2015–2100, under Shared Socioeconomic Pathways SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0, and SSP5-8.5, respectively. In the long-term (2081–2100), the annual precipitation is projected to increase by 32%, 27%, 35%, and 26%, under the four scenarios, respectively. The temperature is projected to remain stable or slightly decrease under SSP1-2.6 (2 °C) and SSP2-4.5 (3 °C), while will keep rising and increasing by 6 °C under SSP5-8.5 and by 4 °C under SSP3-7.0 by 2100. The isotherm and isohyet are projected to shift northwest from southeastern coastal China to inland in the future, which is likely associated with the northwestward shift of the western Pacific anticyclone in summer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is directly linked to a broad array of changes because of disorganized activities within the economic system and human intervention. Climate change affects the well-being status of both non-living and living things. Relevant policies to mitigate and adapt to climate change conditions concentrate on solutions that intend to use renewable energy instead of fossil fuels or other conventional energy sources. This study aims to process a review focused on how renewables advance environmental quality and create relevant benefits within severe economic activities. This study elaborates on the case of China for two main reasons. First, China has a pivotal role in the economic system worldwide. Second, China is making serious attempts to transition into a low-carbon economy. An integrative review was processed to receive selected publications. The advantage of this process is that it considers empirical and non-empirical studies, policy papers, and conceptual frameworks. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied to retrieve the final number of publications. Review results from 39 well-acknowledged Journals provided 180 selected publications categorized into seven study groups: data analyses, model optimization studies, market issues, renewable energy technology publications, nuclear energy publications, ocean energy publications, and policy-related studies. Policy implications concern China's efforts to accelerate the integration of renewables in the energy mix. Hence, the country should increase energy efficiency in consumption and process investment plans based on robust research and development efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese government's use of fiscal policy, which includes fiscal income and spending, is crucial in its fight against environmental pollution and climate change. Innovation‐driven has arisen as a new alternative to reconcile economic success with environmental conservation in light of tighter resource restrictions and the suggestion of the Chinese High‐quality Development policy. The paper uses an econometric model to examine the connection between institutional resource consumption efficiency and carbon neutrality, using a data set consisting of Chinese inter‐provincial panel data from 2007 to 2020 as a research sample; fiscal decentralization is also discussed as a potential moderating factor. Collaborative innovation positively boosts ecological efficiency and produces geographical spillovers, and the findings suggest so long as the economic distance is considered. When it comes to increasing ecological efficiency, collaborative innovation plays a more important role than financial decentralization alone. Among these is the improvement of carbon neutrality, which is best achieved via the joint promotion of ecological efficiency and industrial organizations. By reducing the intensity of the positive effect of innovative cooperation on ecological efficiency, the moderating effect suggests that fiscal decentralization is a critical factor in this relationship. Promoting China's ecological efficiency necessitates a fair distribution of local budgetary spending. China should also actively encourage the degree of synergy between institutional resource consumption efficiency and associated institutions to improve eco‐efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change has become a critical issue for ensuring the sustainable development of human society. In the future, countries with greater potential for carbon reduction and advanced carbon technologies will enjoy a more favorable position in global development. The struggle for leadership and influence in the global climate change arena will intensify between developed countries such as the United States and those in Europe, the main promoter of climate change policies, and developing countries such as China. The Chinese government' s climate strategies, including goals of reaching peak carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality, are currently focused on finding ways to break the impasse in this climate game between major powers. Carbon tariff policies promoted by Europe and the United States have emerged as a powerful tool in this game. This paper employs a global multi-regional computable general equilibrium model to assess the economic and ecological impacts of the post-carbon tariff era on China. We consider eight possible scenarios based on the assumption that the European Union and the United States will impose carbon tariffs on imported products to meet global carbon reduction targets. The study finds that: ① The carbon tariff policies implemented by the United States and Europe have significant adverse effects on China' s GDP and welfare. Furthermore, these policies have a considerable detrimental impact on exports that are highly carbon-intensive, while their overall effectiveness in reducing carbon emissions remains limited. ② The carbon border tax policy, as applied by developed economies such as the United States and the European Union, does not have a clear effect on reducing carbon emissions and is a typical example of a 'harmful to others, unhelpful to oneself' behavior. ③ The Export Tax Rebate policy of China can to some extent alleviate the adverse impacts of the European and the United States Carbon Border Tax policies on the Chinese economy, while also potentially reducing China' s carbon emissions. ④ The Chinese government needs to be cautious in responding to the retaliatory measures of imposing carbon border taxes on Chinese imports, as they could cause more severe economic losses to China. The article proposes that China should take proactive measures to mitigate the negative impacts of carbon tariffs by implementing an export tax rebate policy. It also suggests guiding carbon-intensive export-oriented enterprises to proactively develop emission reduction plans and carbon footprint inventories, as well as enhancing clean energy technologies. In addition, China should actively achieve its 'dual carbon' goals, thereby avoiding economic suppression by developed economies such as Europe and the United States, who may use carbon tariffs as an excuse. The country should increase its R&D investment to improve its green image, while strengthening international cooperation on climate change governance and seeking a fair and just path towards reducing emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article introduces papers published within the issue which were presented at the 6th Annual Forum of the World Association for Political Economy (WAPE) in Amherst, Massachusetts in May 2011, including one on state-owned enterprises (SOE) in China, another on the implications of the need to prevent major climate change for the developmental strategies of China and India and a paper on the influence of neoliberalism on the reform of emergency services in Great Britain.

Rapid urbanization and climate change are two grand challenges faced by many cities in pursuing sustainable urban development. While ecosystem-based adaptation practices are increasingly recognized and adopted across the world as an important urban development strategy, their effective implementation in diverse biophysical conditions and development contexts is of interest, requiring scientific research and learning. This paper presents the case of China in implementing an ecosystem-based approach – sponge city development – to address the water-related challenges of urbanization and climate change. It draws on the literature to synthesize understanding of the interaction between the urban landscape, urban development, and ecosystem services, and proposes mainstreaming an ecosystem service framework in spatial planning and performance evaluation to guide ecosystem-based adaption practices. Focusing on China's practice, the paper develops a five-step procedure for operationalizing and mainstreaming ecosystem services so as to improve policy implementation for sponge city development. This paper aims to provide a practical perspective to help enhance ecosystem-based adaptation in urban development to better address the challenges of urbanization and climate change. Cities are increasingly looking into ecosystem-based adaptation, as an integrated part of urban development, to increase resilience to climate change and to promote urban sustainability. China's experience with implementing a national initiative called sponge city development contributes to learning and an understanding of ecosystem-based adaptation practices to address urbanization and climate change challenges. Existing literature shows the need and potential for an ecosystem service framework to guide spatial planning and performance evaluation for ecosystem-based adaptation. China is in a unique position to mainstream an ecosystem service framework in sponge city development to improve current practice and to promote climate-resilient and ecosystem-integrated urban development. A five-step empirical procedure outlines a systematic approach for mainstreaming ecosystem services, contributing to the literature and policy practice to build urban resilience and sustainability in the face of urbanization and climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Tarim Basin is a large inland arid basin in the arid region of northwest China and has been experiencing significant "warming and wetting" since 1987. As a result, the purpose of this paper is to determine whether the climate transition phenomenon occurred in the Tarim Basin as well as the role of atmospheric circulation in this process. We use meteorological data and atmospheric circulation indexes to study the seasonal trends of climate change in this region from 1987 to 2020 to understand how they are affected by atmospheric circulation. The findings show that, from 1987 to 2020, the Tarim Basin experienced significant warming and wetting; with the exception of the winter scale, all other seasonal scales exhibited a clear warming and wetting trend. From the perspective of spatial distribution, most of the areas showed a significant warming trend, and the warming amplitude around the basin is greater than that in the central area of the basin. However, there are significant regional differences in precipitation change rates. Meanwhile, wavelet analysis shows that there is a significant oscillation period of 17–20 years between climate change and the atmospheric circulation index during 1987–2020. The correlation analysis shows that the Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) are the main influencing factors of climate change in the Tarim Basin at different seasonal scales, while the teleconnection of the Arctic Oscillation (AO) and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is low and the PDO dominates the summer and autumn temperature changes in the Tarim Basin. The research results of this paper show that, despite the warming and wetting trends since 1987 in the Tarim Basin, the climate type did not change. From 1987 to 2020, the main teleconnection factors of climate change in the Tarim Basin were PDO and ENSO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tea (Camellia sinensis L.), as one of the most important cash crops in China, plays an important role in increasing farmers' incomes and guaranteeing a high quality of life. Tea production has been greatly influenced by both climate change and economic development in China. However, without a scientific understanding of the interaction mechanism of climate change and the impetus from rapid economic development on tea production practices in China, it is difficult to take adaptive actions to meet the climate change challenges for the tea industry. In this paper, we firstly assessed the potential impacts of climate change on tea climate suitability by empirical formula calculation using meteorological data; then, the effects from the additional climatic stress due to warming on tea production were detected with the annual statistical tea yield record on a municipal level. The contribution of socioeconomic development to the tea industry was evaluated with the comparison of the movement of China's national economy's and tea industry's gravity center during the period of 1987–2017. Finally, a conceptual adaptation framework was built to demonstrate the interaction mechanisms between climate change, tea production, and the economic development. The results showed that there was a negative impact of climate change on tea production in mainland China, with the percentage of high tea climate suitability (>0.9) areas dropping by 45% to 32%, while opportunities of enlarging the tea cultivating area emerged in the north tea production region where the tea climate suitability increased. We found that the tea planting area expanded northwards from 33° N in 1987 to 35° N in 2017 to take advantage of the favorable climatic resources due to warming, and tea planting decreased at an altitude of 100–400 m while increasing to higher altitude of 400–2000 m to avoid hot temperature damage and seek the optimum environment in high mountainous areas for tea production. In addition, the tea production moved westward along the longitude, decreasing obviously at 117–121° E while increasing significantly at 98–104° E and 107–110° E. Meanwhile, the tea production gravity center showed a westward movement consistent with the national economic gravity center moving trend, which means that tea industry development was driven by multiple socioeconomic factors and climatic forcings. A conceptual framework was built in this paper, aiming to show a robust adaptation mechanism for the tea system to maximize the benefits and minimize the damages from the altered climatic resources under rapid economic development in mainland China. The results in this study would help deepen the understanding of the adaptation process and practices for tea production in mainland China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building a more resilient response system to climate change for sustainable development and reducing uncertainty in China's food markets, requires access to historical research gaps and mapping future research progress for decision making. However, the lack of quantitative and objective analyses to ensure the stability and development of agroecosystems increases the complexity of agro-climatic mechanisms, which leads to uncertainty and undesirable consequences. In this paper, we review the characteristics of climate change in China (1951–2020), reveal the mechanisms of agroecosystem structure in response to climate, and identify challenges and opportunities for future efforts in the context of research progress. The aim is to improve the scientific validity and relevance of future research by clarifying agro-climatic response mechanisms. The results show that surface temperature, precipitation, and frequency of extreme weather events have increased to varying degrees in major agricultural regions of China in 1951–2020. And they have strong geographic variation, which has resulted in droughts in the north and floods in the south. Moreover, climate change has complicated the mechanisms of soil moisture, Net Primary Productivity (NPP), soil carbon pool, and crop pest structure in agroecosystems. This lends to a reduction in soil water holding capacity, NPP, soil carbon content, and the number of natural enemies of diseases and insects, which in turn affects crop yields. However, human interventions can mitigate the deterioration of these factors. We have also realized that the methodology and theory of historical research poses a great challenge to future agroecosystem. Historical and projected climate trends identified current gaps in interdisciplinary integration and multidisciplinary research required to manage diverse spatio-temporal climate change impacts on agroecosystems. Future efforts should highlight integrated management and decision making, multidisciplinary big data coupling, and numerical simulations to ensure sustainable agricultural development, ecological security, and food security in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is currently the biggest environmental challenge facing sustainable development in human society, and it is an inherent requirement for achieving sustainable development by actively addressing climate change. Under the increasingly strict constraints of climate governance, developed countries such as the United States, European Union countries, and Japan have responded and actively formulated low-carbon development goals and policy measures that are in line with their national conditions. These policies mainly involve various fields such as low-carbon technology, energy conservation and emission reduction, and circular development, with clear policy guidance. In this paper, the evolution of policies on marine carbon sink and carbon trading in China is summarized, providing support for better understanding the background of formulating relevant international and domestic policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global climate changes have led to frequent and recurrent heat stress, which has seriously affected the world maize production. The experiment presented in this paper was carried out during the maize‐growing season in 2021 and 2022 at the Huang–Huai–Hai Region Maize Science and Technology Innovation Center (36°09′N, 117°09′E) in Tai'an, Shandong province, China. The test site is located in the semi‐humid warm temperate continental monsoon climate zone, soil is brown loam. We selected different heat‐sensitive maize varieties: heat‐tolerant variety Zhengdan 958 (ZD958) and heat‐sensitive variety Xianyu335 (XY335) to study the stress effects of high temperature on the development of tassel in the key stage of its differentiation (the 12‐leaf stage, V12). We found that exposure to heat stress during the V12 stage significantly reduced the tassel size and the anther dehiscence area, making it difficult to disperse pollen, thus effectively reducing pollen production. In addition, heat stress had significant negative effects on pollen development, resulting in deformed pollen and lower pollen viability and germination rate. Our results also showed that heat stress significantly increased the activities of key reactive oxygen species‐scavenging enzymes including superoxide dismutase, peroxidase and catalase, and that the malondialdehyde and H2O2 content in tassels exposed to heat stress were significantly higher than those control group, where it should be noted that for the XY335, these effects were more pronounced than for the ZD958. The endogenous hormone content of tassels exhibited a variety of responses. After heat stress, the zeatin and salicylic acid content in tassels of both maize varieties were significantly lower than those in the respective control groups, while the abscisic acid and gibberellin acid content were significantly higher. With respect to the jasmonic acid and 3‐indoleacetic acid content, the two maize varieties exhibited opposite responses: in tassels from ZD958 plants subjected to heat stress were higher than those in the respective control group, while in tassels from XY335 plants, they were lower. The observed changes in protective enzyme activities and endogenous hormone contents induced by heat stress significantly affected the development of maize tassels and significantly reduced the amount, activity and germination rate of pollen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seamless prediction is a weather–climate integrated prediction covering multiple time scales that include days, weeks, months, seasons, years, and decades. Seamless prediction can provide different industries with information such as weather conditions and climate variations from the next few days to years, which have important impacts on economic and social development and important reference value for short-, medium- and long-term decision-making and planning of the country. Therefore, seamless prediction has received widespread attention from the international scientific community recently. As Chinese scientists have also carried out relevant research, this paper reviews the research in China on developments and applications of seamless prediction methods and prediction systems in recent years. Among them, the main progress of seamless prediction methods studies is reviewed from four aspects: short- and medium-range weather forecasting, subseasonal-to-seasonal, seasonal-to-interannual, and decadal climate prediction. In terms of development and application of seamless prediction systems, the main achievements made by meteorological operational departments, scientific institutes, and universities in China in recent years are reviewed. Finally, some of the issues in seamless prediction that need further study are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influences of human activity on regional climate over China have been widely reported and drawn great attention from both the scientific community and governments. This paper reviews the evidence of the anthropogenic influence on regional climate over China from the perspectives of surface air temperature (SAT), precipitation, droughts, and surface wind speed, based on studies published since 2018. The reviewed evidence indicates that human activities, including greenhouse gas and anthropogenic aerosol emissions, land use and cover change, urbanization, and anthropogenic heat release, have contributed to changes in the SAT trend and the likelihood of regional record-breaking extreme high/low temperature events over China. The anthropogenically forced SAT signal can be detected back to the 1870s in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau region. Although the anthropogenic signal of summer precipitation over China is detectable and anthropogenic forcing has contributed to an increased likelihood of regional record-breaking heavy/low precipitation events, the anthropogenic precipitation signal over China is relatively obscure. Moreover, human activities have also contributed to a decline in surface wind speed, weakening of monsoon precipitation, and an increase in the frequency of droughts and compound extreme climate/weather events over China in recent decades. This review can serve as a reference both for further understanding the causes of regional climate changes over China and for sound decision-making on regional climate mitigation and adaptation. Additionally, a few key or challenging scientific issues associated with the human influence on regional climate changes are discussed in the context of future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United States (U.S.) and China are key to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement and reaching carbon neutrality by around mid-century. Despite differences, carbon neutrality will be met more rapidly if the two countries coordinate and facilitate synergies in carbon-neutral technologies and policy development and implementation. Building on long-term pathway models in the U.S. and China, current emissions trends and sources, and a policy analysis, this paper puts forward a novel framework for U.S.-China coordination on carbon neutrality. The analysis reveals similar technology and policy pathways, policy gaps, and shared milestones for decarbonization in 2030, 2040, and 2050-2060. The main technological pathways focus on reductions in energy demand and non-energy-related CO2 emissions, decarbonization of electricity and fuels, and increases in electrification rates and CO2 sequestration. Given existing domestic policies and opportunities for further action, areas for coordination on carbon neutrality include common policy milestones; dialogue and technical exchange; research, development, and demonstration (RD&D); and international climate leadership. Despite escalated tensions between the U.S. and China, and challenges for climate cooperation, coordination between both countries on carbon neutrality is both possible and necessary. Carbon neutrality will be met more swiftly if the U.S. and China coordinate and facilitate synergies in carbon-neutral technologies and policy. Despite the rise in geo-political tensions between the U.S. and China, coordination on carbon neutrality is both possible and necessary. An analytical framework for U.S.-China coordination on carbon neutrality, includes technology and policy pathways, and common milestones of key sectors' decarbonization for 2030, 2040, and 2050-2050. The two countries could coordinate on common policy milestones, dialogue and technical exchange, research and development, and international climate leadership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban areas mediate climate transformations and generate new forms of climate urbanism. Looking at climate action in the twelve fastest-growing cities in China with under one million people, this paper proposes a perspective on urban climate politics 'from elsewhere' that foregrounds the potential role of smaller urban areas in mediating climate transformations. The analysis reveals three climate action strategies that reflect practical, institutional, and personal spheres of climate transformations. Planning action in the personal sphere provides opportunities for urban transformations. A perspective 'from elsewhere' calls for greater attention to planning for diverse change strategies for climate transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rainfall distribution in southwest China is uneven, and the rainstorm threshold cannot use in a unified standard. This paper synthesizes a calculation method for the extremely heavy precipitation threshold and the provision of the rainstorm threshold in meteorological operation. It calculates the daily precipitation rainstorm threshold at 400 national ground stations in southwest China. The rainstorm events from 1961 to 2021 were statistically analyzed using the rainstorm threshold and analyzing the spatial-temporal variation characteristics. The results show that the number of single-station rainstorm events and the average precipitation of single-station rainstorm events in southwest China decreased from east to west. The number and frequency of single-station rainstorm events in Guizhou, Sichuan, Tibet, and Chongqing are increasing, while the number of single-station rainstorm events in Yunnan is decreasing. There is no apparent spatial distribution pattern for the continuous rainstorm events in the southwest region. From 1961 to 2021, the number and frequency of rainstorm events at a single station in southwest China followed an upward trend. The number of rainstorm events at a single station increased by 16.7 times · (10a)−1, and the frequency of rainstorms increased by 9.9% · (10a)−1. The continuous rainstorm events show an increasing trend, with an increase of 0.1 times · (10a)−1. Using the rainstorm threshold in southwest China, the early warning threshold for rainstorm disasters can be adjusted. The temporal and spatial characteristics of rainstorm events since 1961 can analyze the changes occurring in rainstorm events under global warming and provide data to support the response of southwest China to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought seriously endangers the development of agro‐pastoral ecotone in arid and semi‐arid regions. However, drought evolution characteristics of semi‐arid sandy grassland and its drivers are not well understood in the complex climate change context. Thus, in this paper, the revised standardized precipitation evaporation indices on one‐month (SPEI‐1) and growing‐season (SPEI‐6) scale, flash drought and dry spells (DS) were calculated as drought indicators, and the temporal variabilities and meteorological drivers of drought in Horqin Sandy Land during the growing period (April–September) from 2007 to 2021 were studied. The results showed that SPEI‐1 and SPEI‐6 exhibited negative trends and periodic change. This drought aggravation was manifested in increased grades and numbers of drought months. Flash droughts can occur every month during the growing season. And its occurrence was not only positively correlated with all drought events in frequency but also synchronized in time. The increased number of DS showed an asymmetrical shift towards 7‐day‐and‐longer DS. SPEI sensitivity to precipitation (P) was noticeably higher than to atmospheric evapotranspiration demand (AED) at both monthly and growing season scales. SPEI sensitivity to AED was modulated by P amounts, which was higher during low P period. Apart from the amounts of P and AED, their temporal variability also strongly determined how they affect the drought severity. P was also the main driver for flash drought and long DS, but AED with larger amount and higher variability is the reason for their aggravation. Our results demonstrate the complexity of drought intensification in semi‐arid sandy grasslands and highlight the important role of AED anomalies in it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a raw material for clean energy supply for the new generation, the soybean is conducive to the realization of global energy transition and sustainable development in the context of "carbon neutrality". However, global warming has been affecting soybean yields in recent years. How to clarify the correlation between meteorological factors and soybean yields, so as to ensure the security of soybean growth and development and the stability of renewable energy development, is a key concern of the government and academia. Based on the data of temperature, precipitation, sunshine duration and active accumulated temperature during the soybean growing season in Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region from 1951 to 2019, and soybean yield data of the city from 1985 to 2019, this paper adopted statistical methods such as the Trend Analysis Method, the Rescaled Range Analysis Method and so on to analyze the trends of yield changes, characteristics of abrupt changes and periodic patterns of climate factors and soybean yields in Hulunbuir. A Pearson Correlation Analysis and a Grey Relation Analysis were used to explore the correlation between climatic factors and soybean yields, followed by a comprehensive impact model of the combined effect of temperature and precipitation on soybean yields established by the Method of Integral Regression. The results showed that temperature and active accumulated temperature are the dominant factors affecting soybean yields in Hulunbuir, while the decrease in precipitation is unfavorable to the improvement of soybean yields. Meanwhile, temperature and precipitation have different effects on the growth and development of the soybean at different stages. The conclusion of this paper is of great practical significance for Hulunbuir to promote the sustainable development of clean energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the life-cycle wind resistant performance of a constructed long-span suspension bridge in the coastal region of China, aiming to quantify the multisource time-variant effects and uncertainties and offering a reference for designs of long-span bridges in the future. Randomness from modal frequencies, damping ratios, and identification uncertainty of flutter derivatives (FDs) was considered; then, their effects on probability of flutter failure and probability of exceeding the predefined buffeting response root-mean square (RMS) are discussed. Firstly, results of full-track tropical cyclone (TC) simulation under various climate warming scenarios are reviewed; then, the time-variant probability density function (PDF) of annual extreme wind speed is discussed. Secondly, 6-year modal frequencies and damping ratios of a long-span suspension bridge with a center-slotted section were extracted by fast Bayesian FFT method with structural health monitoring (SHM) data, which were utilized to explore the deterioration rules of structural properties. Thirdly, FDs were modeled from a probabilistic perspective based on complex Wishart distribution, which were identified in the turbulent flow and the frequency domain by Bayesian inference. The posterior distributions of FDs, namely identification uncertainty, were quantified by Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling. This paper finds that for flutter resistant performance, the time-variant effects (i.e., modal frequencies and PDFs of extreme wind speed) will make the flutter failure probability seven times larger than the initial value; for the probability of exceeding the predefined buffeting response RMS, however, the time-variant effects will make a negligible difference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve carbon peak targets, realize carbon neutrality vision, and tackle global climate change, China must improve the carbon emission performance at the city level. Based on the carbon emission performance of 191 prefecture-level cities in China from 1997 to 2017, this paper analyses the evolution characteristics of urban carbon emission performance from three aspects: the overall spatial and temporal evolution, the differences according to both region and city size, and the differences among clusters categorized by carbon emission performance at the city level. This paper also reveals the impact of the social and economic transition on China's carbon emission performance. The results show that: (1) The overall level of carbon emission performance of Chinese cities is low, and there is a downward trend during the study period. The differences in carbon emission performance among cities are convergent, but there is a wide gap between high and low values. (2) The carbon emission performance of cities in eastern coastal areas is higher than that in non-coastal areas cities. Large urban agglomerations and economically developed regions, such as provincial capitals, are the agglomeration areas of high urban carbon emission performance values. (3) The carbon emission performance level of cities with similar sizes will converge. At the same time, such changes will enhance the differences among carbon emission performances at the city level within the same region. (4) Cities that belong to high urban carbon emission performance clusters are mainly distributed in the eastern region. Such cities are classified into large cities, supercities, and megacities. Compared with low urban carbon emission performance clusters, cities in high urban carbon emission performance clusters show a higher proportion in the medium-high level and high level of carbon emission performance. Moreover, cities in high urban carbon emission performance clusters are more likely to improve theirurban carbon emission performance. (5) The economic agglomeration effect, industrial structure adjustment and carbon intensity reduction have a significant impact on improving urban carbon emission performance. Population agglomeration has an incremental effect, and the anticipated benefits of environmental regulation have yet to be fully realized. The impacts of different clusters and different regions are variable. Finally, this paper advances policy enlightenment according to its research findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: This paper analyzed the different relationships between earlywood and latewood as well as total tree-ring growth and the climate factors and reconstructed 106 years of May–June mean temperature (TMJ) in the Tongbai Mountains based on the earlywood width chronology of Pinus taiwanensis Hayata. It also analyzed the linkages to the Indian and Pacific Oceans. This paper found that earlywood width chronology has better response to the climate factors than latewood width and total tree-ring width. This study also found that the main limiting factors that restrained radial growth of Pinus taiwanensis Hayata in the Tongbai Mountains were May–June mean temperature and mean maximum temperature. The reconstructed TMJ series have a better reliability and are significantly negatively correlated with sea surface temperature (SST) over the tropical Western Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean and are significantly positively correlated with SST over the subtropical Pacific Ocean. Finally, the periodic fluctuations of TMJ in the Tongbai Mountains might be related to the quasi-biennial interannual oscillation of SST over the Indo-Pacific equatorial region (QBO). The results of this study are significant for further understanding and exploring forest growth and climate change in the climatic transition zone. The Tongbai Mountains are an ecologically sensitive region to climate change, where there lies a climatic transitional zone from a subtropical to a warm–temperate monsoon climate. The northern boundary of Pinus taiwanensis Hayata is here; thus, climate information is well recorded in its tree rings. Based on developed earlywood width (EWW), latewood width (LWW) and total ring width (RW) chronologies (time period: 1887–2014 year) of Pinus taiwanensis Hayata in the Tongbai Mountains in central China, this paper analyzed characteristics of these chronologies and correlations between these chronologies and climate factors. The correlation results showed that earlywood width chronology contains more climate information than latewood width chronology and total ring width chronology, and mean temperature and mean maximum temperature in May–June were the main limiting factors for radial growth of Pinus taiwanensis Hayata. The highest significant value in all correlation analyses is −0.669 (p < 0.05) between earlywood width chronology and May–June mean temperature (TMJ) in the pre-mutation period (1958–2005) based on mutating in 2006. Thus, this paper reconstructed May–June mean temperature using earlywood width chronology from 1901 to 2005 (reliable period of earlywood width chronology is 1901–2014). The reconstructed May–June mean temperature experienced eight warmer periods and eight colder periods and also showed 2–3a cycle change over the past 105 years. The spatial correlation showed that the reconstructed series was representative of the May–June mean temperature variation in central and eastern China and significant positive/negative correlation with the sea surface temperature (SST) of the subtropical Pacific Ocean and the tropical Western Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean from the previous October to the current June. This also indicated that May–June mean temperature periodic fluctuations might be related to the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) in the tropical Western Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean. The results of this study have extended and supplemented the meteorological records of the Tongbai Mountains and have a guiding significance for forest tending and management in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aims of this paper is to illustrate the importance of grain production in China's food security strategy based on the three Northeastern provinces (NEP) in the new period, which quantitative assessment of climate change under the background of the loss caused by meteorological disasters of regional food production is clarify. In this paper, using grain planting area, yield and agricultural disaster statistics from 1981 to 2020, comparison analysis grain production and disaster characteristics between NEP and the whole country respectively. The disaster-yield assessment model was used to estimate the disaster-yield loss and final yield of the NEP by inputting disaster data in recent 10 years, and the sensitivity and stability of the disaster-yield assessment model were re-tested. The results showed that :(1) from 1981 to 2020, the grain planting area and total output in NEP increased significantly, and the proportion of the total output of NEP increased steadily, and the proportion of the total output of the three northeast provinces reached 1/5 of the total output of the whole country by 2020. (2) The disaster situation in NEP showed a significant trend of first increasing and then decreasing. The incrasing of average grain yield during the past 40 years was 65.96kg⋅ha-1 and 252.5kg⋅ha-1 per year for NEP and the whole country, while the incrasing of average grain yield during the past 10 years was 52.6kg⋅ha-1 per year for NEP significantly. (3) From 2011 to 2020, the average affected area and affected area in China were 23704.5x10³ha and 11204.7x10³ha, respectively, and 3899.1x10³disasters of the whole country and the three northeastern provinces were significantly lower than those of the previous three years, making it the decade with the least severe disasters in 40 years. (4) The simulation accuracy of the disaster-yield assessment model was high. The linear regression coefficients (R²) of simulated grain yield and measured grain yield in Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning provinces were 0.98, 0.90 and 0.88, respectively. The slopes were 1.05, 1.02 and 0.98 (P < 0.01), respectively. The loss rate of grain yield due to agro-disaster was 10.4%, 17.9% and 18.0% respectively in the three province, while which was more than 8.0%, 17.0% and 16.0% for 20a.years. (5) The model slightly overestimated the grain yield of Jilin and Liaoning in recent 10 years due to the overall light disaster situation. Based on the data from 1981 to 2010, the regional grain disaster loss assessment model was proved to be able to evaluate the loss of grain yield caused by meteorological disasters well, and had the performance of predicting grain yield, and has the feasibility of operational application. The impact of meteorological disasters on the grain output in northeast China is higher than the average level of disasters in the whole country. Considering that the grain output in Northeast China accounts for a high proportion of the national grain output, preventing the risk of agro-meteorological disasters in Northeast China in the new period is of great importance to guarantee the national food security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preventing the impact of natural disasters on urban-rural income inequality helps to achieve shared prosperity. This paper uses the functional entropy weight method to calculate the level of natural disasters from 2004 to 2020. Then, this paper discusses the impact of natural disasters on the urban-rural income gap. The empirical results are as follows. (1) Natural disasters have expanded the urban-rural income gap. The regression coefficient is 0.2663, which is significant at the 1% level. (2) In areas with a high proportion of the rural population, the impact of natural disasters is more prominent. (3) Mechanism analysis indicates that natural disasters have widened the urban-rural income gap by restraining rural investment and agricultural production. Finally, this paper suggests strengthening investment in the agricultural sector to mitigate the negative impact of natural disasters. • This paper uses the functional entropy weight method to calculate the level of natural disasters. • This paper quantitatively measures the impact of natural disasters on the urban-rural income gap. • This paper examines the mechanism of the impact of natural disasters on the urban-rural income gap. • This paper provides policy suggestions for narrowing the urban-rural income gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The influences of the geometric parameters of the reactor on the SCPP-HPCR are investigated. • A formula is proposed to calculate the CO 2 emissions reduction of the system. • The optimal operating conditions of the SCPP-HPCR is analyzed. • 2.38 kg of CH 4 is degraded and 375.52 kg of CO 2 is reduced through the system one day. The increase of 1.09 °C in global temperature resulted in significant catastrophes because of the extreme climate. The climate change rate can be slowed down by reducing the levels of CH 4 and CO 2 in the atmosphere. The solar chimney power plant integrated with a honeycomb photocatalytic reactor (SCPP-HPCR) uses the photocatalytic technology to remove atmospheric CH 4. In addition, CO 2 emissions can be reduced from coal fired power plant due to the generating capacity of the system. In this paper, the influence of the geometric parameters of the reactor and turbine on the overall performance of the SCPP-HPCR is studied by numerical simulation. The obtained results showed that the flow resistance inside the system was mostly caused by the HPCR at low turbine speed, and primarily by the turbine at high turbine speed. Reducing the pore diameter of the reactor could improve the photocatalytic performance of the SCPP-HPCR more than increasing the turbine speed. The SCPP-HPCR having a pore diameter of 3 mm, porosity of 0.85, and constant turbine speed of 180 rpm, built in Qianyanzhou, China, could remove 2.38 kg of CH 4 and reduce 375.52 kg of CO 2 in one day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Petrocodon Hance is one of the famous ornamental flowers, but most of them are assessed as extremely dangerous (CR), or at least above vulnerable (VU) due to climate turbulence and strong interference of human activities. To reconstruct the temporal and spatial changes of the potential suitable areas of Petrocodon since the last interglacial period, and explore the response of the suitable areas to environmental changes, which provided theoretical guidance for the origin of Petrocodon, the study of geographical differentiation, the conservation of unique germplasm resources in China, and the development and utilization of gardens. In this paper, combined with 120 distribution records and 17 environmental variables, the optimal MaxEnt model and geographic information technology (ArcGIS) were used to simulate the suitable areas and distribution pattern of Petrocodon in China and Indo-China Peninsula. Based on stepwise multiple linear regression analysis, redundancy analysis and Monte-Carlo test, the dominant variables affecting the current geographical distribution of Petrocodon were evaluated. The results were as follows: (1) The prediction accuracy of the optimized MaxEnt model was high, and the AUC value was greater than 0.96. The potential suitable areas of Petrocodon for the present distribution are continuous from Southwest China to North Vietnam, scattered in central and southern China and blocky in North Myanmar, of which the South Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau in China was the most suitable. (2) The environmental variables which restrict the geographical distribution of Petrocodon included precipitation of the driest month (bio14), precipitation of the warmest quarter (bio18), precipitation of the wettest quarter (bio16), SD of the temperature seasonality (bio4), min temperature of the coldest month (bio6) and altitude (alt). (3) Under the climate change scenario, the expansion and contraction areas of the suitable habitat of Petrocodon were located in the north and northeast of the current potential distribution area, which were sensitive areas susceptible to climate change. During the last interglacial period, the suitable area of Petrocodon expanded on a large scale, but there was almost no suitable distribution area of Petrocodon in the dry and cold environment during the last glacial maximum. After that, with the aggravation of climate warming, the suitable habitats of Petrocodon increased rapidly to high latitudes, while the suitable habitat in low latitudes decreased. (4) The centroid position of the suitable area for Petrocodon migrated northwards from Yongfu County, Guangxi (110.10° E, 24.69° N) to Chengbu County, Hunan (110.29° E, 26.05° N). To sum up, global warming has a positive impact on the potential distribution area of Petrocodon, but extreme warming will cause the suitable habitat of Petrocodon to shrink, and the niche of Petrocodon will narrow. Southwest China to North Vietnam, which has the advantage of mature karst landform, may be its main refuge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Damage from climate change is widespread throughout the world. This change has brought about calamities, the most prevalent of which is the emergence of numerous droughts which are increasingly threatening human lives. In this paper, we studied the spatial and temporal variations of drought under the effect of climate change in the Huaibei Plain, which is a very important agricultural zone in China. Drought has attracted increasing attention in research due to its heavy impact on agriculture, the environment, livelihood, and food security. The SPEI (Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index) has been used in this study to express and identify drought events in the Huaibei Plain due to climate change. A general circulation model (GCM), HadGEM2-AO, which was the most appropriate for the study area's precipitation simulation, and three Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP), RCP 2.6, RCP 4.5, and RCP 8.5, were used to analyze and compare the drought effect for the baseline (1985–2017) and the future climate scenarios (2025–2090). At 3 and 6 months, the SPEI successfully detects agricultural drought in temporal and spatial variation. However, according to the analysis, more severe agricultural drought events are foreseen in the future than in the baseline because of climate change. SPEI performed better than SPI in detecting drought in the baseline and simulated data due to increased evapotranspiration. Between the SPEI-3 and SPEI-6, the Pearson coefficient correlation reveals a positive association. The Mann-Kendall test was used to cover the two studied periods in order to establish the drought trend. Both decreasing and increasing trends, in different timescales, were detected by Sen's Slope in the baseline and future periods with all RCPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]