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People are increasingly exposed to extreme weather events with the escalation of global warming. Understanding how individuals face and respond to it is crucial for climate mitigation. In the present study, we surveyed a sample of 856 people in five metropolitan areas in China to examine how personal experiences of extreme weather events affect individuals' low-carbon behavior through consequential and moral processing of climate change. The results indicate that people with personal experience of extreme weather events show significantly better cognitive judgment, emotional reactions, and mitigation behavior than those without such experience. Furthermore, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to illustrate that personal experience can initiate a sense of collective morality about climate change and predict the adoption of mitigating behaviors. Additionally, it can be seen that cognitive processing precedes emotional processing in the context of climate change. The present findings provide some evidence at the individual level for further moral philosophical discussions about climate change and offer insights for social solutions about promoting sustainable environmental behaviors. We point out that mechanisms of social cooperation among collectives and individuals used to deal with climate change deserve further research. We also discuss the implications and limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing atmospheric CO2 causes substantial spatial and seasonal changes in air temperature and precipitation through its radiative (RAD) and vegetation physiological (PHY) effects. However, it remains poorly understood on how these two effects impact the integrated climate zone shifts over China. Here, we disentangle the RAD and PHY effects on the shifts of Köppen‐Geiger climate zones from pre‐industrial to 4 × CO2 in China using nine Earth system models. We find that climate zone changes over approximately 56.1% of China, and PHY contributes 15.2% of such changes at 4 × CO2. PHY shifts regional climate to warmer and wetter classifications, shrinking (−42.8%) the arid zone distributions and promoting (26.8%) the tropical zone northward extensions. Our findings highlight the critical role of vegetation in reshaping the overall climate zone distributions, yet introduce potential risk to climate mitigation and adaptation. Plain Language Summary: Ongoing rise in atmospheric CO2 not only alters the magnitudes of temperature and precipitation, but also shifts their spatial and seasonal variations, reshaping climate zone distributions. Vegetation amplifies global warming and modulates precipitation through its physiological response (PHY) to rising CO2, but how this process affects the local climate zone shifts is understudied, especially in China. Using nine CMIP6 Earth system models, we find that climate zone undergoes shifts across 56.1% of China at 4 × CO2, and PHY contributes 15.2% of such changes. PHY aids the northward expansions of tropical and temperate zones, and generally shifts the regions to warmer and wetter climate from pre‐industrial to 4 × CO2. Importantly, PHY diminishes (−42.8%) the arid zone coverage, indicating an important role of vegetation to alleviate water stress in those regions. Strong PHY contributions to the total climate zone area changes caused by rising CO2 emerges in Shandong, Shanxi, Ningxia, Guangdong and Guangxi at 4 × CO2. Our results clarify the climate zone shifts at 4 × CO2 and unravel the role of vegetation physiological response on shifting future climate zone distributions in China, providing new perspective on the role of vegetation in climate system. Key Points: Climate zone shifts across 56.1% of land area in China at 4 × CO2, 15.2% of which is contributed by vegetation CO2 physiological forcingCO2 physiological forcing shifts the regions to a warmer climate through lifting temperature, expanding tropical zone northwardVegetation acts to shrink arid zone as precipitation increases through CO2 physiological forcing [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we empirically evaluate the effect of climate change on agricultural technical efficiency, considering the moderating effect of mitigation efforts based on emission reduction in China. In particular, we directly measure the intensity of mitigation efforts using the climate change mitigation index. We then apply the two-stage double bootstrap DEA method to build up the empirical model, effectively avoiding biased estimation using the traditional two-stage DEA method. Our results show that the intensity of mitigation measures moderates the impacts of global warming on efficiency and mild mitigation measures are better than drastic ones. [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]

Limiting climate warming to below 2°C requires more intense mitigation efforts. Alongside the steep reductions in fossil fuel emissions needed, natural climate solutions (NCS) act as an additional first step toward achieving China's emission reduction goals. We first quantified the historical contribution of NCS as 0.34 PgCO2 equivalent (PgCO2e) yr−1 through the implemented national ecological restoration projects as well as positive management measures. Based on successful practices, we then designed 21 pathways to quantify the potential of NCS in increasing terrestrial carbon sinks or reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in forest, grassland, cropland, and wetland ecosystems. We show that the maximum mitigation potential of NCS between 2020 and 2060 under guaranteed food and fiber security is 1.95 (1.54–2.38) PgCO2e yr−1 (95% CI), which can offset nearly 20% of the annual net emissions. Historically, forest ecosystems have contributed the most to carbon sequestration; however, future projections show cropland ecosystems will account for the largest proportion (47.6%), followed by forest ecosystems. Approximately 47% (0.91 PgCO2e yr−1) of the maximum represents cost‐effective mitigation potential that can be realized at ≤100 USD/MgCO2e. Conservation tillage is the most cost‐effective option in China, achieving a maximum contribution of 181.60 TgCO2e yr−1. In addition, a series of cropland management measures have contributed 1.14 PgCO2e in the past two decades. Our study highlights the high effectiveness of cropland pathways in reducing carbon emissions and emphasizes the key role of cropland ecosystems in mitigating climate change. Plain Language Summary: As global warming continues, natural climate solutions (NCS) are one of the most effective ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. As the largest emitter of CO2, China has significant climate mitigation potential. However, there is a huge gap in the results of NCS in China, which is mainly reflected in the insufficient attention paid to the cropland ecosystems (e.g., cropland management measures such as no‐tillage and straw return were put into practice as early as 2000, but these effective pathways were not considered in current studies). In this study, we designed feasible NCS pathways in line with China's national conditions based on successful ecological restoration experiences at home and abroad, and evaluated the historical carbon sink contributions and future mitigation potential of each pathway. By comparing the mitigation potential of forest, cropland, grassland, and wetland ecosystems, we reveal the key role of cropland ecosystems in mitigating climate change. This study is critical to understanding that effective cropland management measures will contribute the greatest climate mitigation potential. Key Points: We design 21 pathways to quantify the historical contribution and potential of natural climate solutions (NCS) in mitigating of climate warmingThe maximum mitigation potential of NCS between 2020 and 2060 can offset nearly 20% of the annual net emissionsHistorically, forest NCS have contributed the most; however, future projections show cropland will account for the largest proportion [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Global warming has become one of the major threats to the security of human survival, security, and sustainable development. Agricultural production has been widely suspected as one of the main sources of anthropogenic carbon emissions. Analyzing the changing characteristics and influencing factors of agricultural carbon emissions is of great significance for the mitigation of global climate change and the sustainable development in agriculture. Taking China, a large agricultural country, as an example, this study used the empirical model to quantify carbon emissions from agricultural inputs from 1991 to 2019, and analyzed the driving factors using ridge regression. We found that agricultural carbon emissions in China have been on the rise in the past 30 years, but at a markedly slower pace. From 2008 to 2019, the average annual growth rate of agricultural carbon emissions was 1.47%, down significantly from 2.92% between 1991 and 2007. The carbon emissions per unit of planting area showed an overall increasing trend, which grew from 179.35 t ce/km2 to 246.26 t ce/km2, with an average annual growth rate of 1.13%. The carbon emissions per unit of agricultural output mainly showed a decreasing trend, which decreased from 0.52 kg ce/CNY to 0.06 kg ce/CNY, with an average annual rate of change of −7.42%. China's agricultural carbon emissions were closely related to macro-policies. Fertilizer inputs, agricultural industry structure, and energy use intensity were significantly positively correlated with carbon emission intensity. The degree of urban feedback to rural areas, public investment in agriculture, and large-scale planting were significantly negatively correlated with carbon emission intensity, but the impacts of these factors had a "lag effect". In order to reduce carbon emissions from agriculture and promote development in green agriculture, we suggest that the government should further increase the degree of urban feedback to rural and public investment in the agricultural sector. In addition, large-scale agricultural production should be encouraged to increase resource efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Responses of summer precipitation in China to global 1.5°C warming with transient and stabilized pathways are investigated through the analysis of the Common Earth System Model climate simulations. Precipitation increases more significantly in southeast China in the stabilized scenario compared with the transient one. The difference is primarily attributable to dynamic factors related to circulation changes and driven by differences of land‐ocean thermal contrast between the two scenarios. The stabilized warming favors conditions of larger ocean warming and smaller land warming, leads to enhanced meridional temperature gradient and ultimately speeds up the jet stream over East Asia. Ageostrophic wind at the entrance of the accelerated jet strengthens ascending motion and precipitation along the coast of Asia from southeast China to India. The enhanced heating over India further induces a Kelvin‐wave response with an anomalous anticyclone that contributes to the enhanced westward shifted of the western North Pacific Subtropical High. Southerly winds at the west flank of the anticyclone transport moisture northward from tropical oceans, and strengthen precipitation in southeast China. Plain Language Summary: This study deals with the issue of regional precipitation response to 1.5°C global warming in accordance to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change for two different pathways, either transient or stabilized. Compared with the transient warming scenario, summer precipitation increases more significantly in southeast China in the stabilized one. This feature of distinctive precipitation responses, with strong implications for policy making in terms of regional climate mitigation and adaptation, is furthermore explored through a moisture budget analysis. Dynamic effect in relation to changes of atmospheric circulation is found to be the major contributor to the difference. The cause of the significant difference in precipitation in South China is attributed to changes of land‐ocean thermal contrast, leading to a series of atmospheric circulation adjustments. Results presented here satisfactorily addressed, for the first time, the long‐standing issue on global warming, namely, how the atmosphere responds distinctively under the transient and stabilized anthropogenic forcing pathways which show however an identical global warming level. Key Points: The summer precipitation increases more significantly in southeast China in the stabilized warming scenario compared with the transient oneThe dynamic effect in relation to changes of atmospheric circulation constitutes the major factor of distinctive precipitation responsesThe differential meridional thermal gradient related to a contrasted land‐ocean warming leads to dynamic changes [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technological advances have the potential to balance climate change mitigation and economic development. However, it remains unclear how much technological advances alone can mitigate climate change and the associated economic losses in the future. Through designing a suite of technological advances scenarios and using an earth system model with an integrated assessment model, we illustrate that rapid technological progress without production control might achieve the 2°C global warming target in the 2100s. Relative to a world of stagnant technology, the frequency (intensity) of extreme warm events at the end of the 21st century (2081–2100) would be reduced by ∼21% (5.5°C) via rapid technological advances, with a reduction in extreme precipitation (droughts) by ∼41% (10 times). Furthermore, fast technological advances may reduce the global economic losses linked with climate change at 2081–2100 by ∼21% and those in China related to floods (droughts) by 86% (67%). Our results highlight the potential of technological advances to fill the emission gap between the Paris Agreement and unconditional Nationally Determined Contributions and hence to efficiently mitigate global warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heatwaves have significant adverse effects on human health. The frequency, duration, and intensity of heatwaves are projected to increase dramatically, in the context of global warming. However, there are few comprehensive assessments of the health impact of heatwaves considering different definitions, and their characteristics under climate change scenarios. We aimed to compare future excess mortality related to heatwaves among different definitions under climate change, population, and adaptation scenarios in China and further explore the mortality burden associated with heatwave characteristics. Daily data during 2010–2019 were collected in Guangzhou, China. We adopted nine common heatwave definitions and applied quasi-Poisson models to estimate the effects of heatwaves and their characteristics' impact on mortality. We then projected the excess mortality associated with heatwaves and their characteristics concerning climate change, population, and adaptation scenarios. The relative risks of the nine common heatwave definitions ranged from 1.05 (95% CI: 1.01, 1.10) to 1.24 (95% CI: 1.13, 1.35). Heatwave-related excess mortality will consistently increase in the future decades considering multiple heatwave definitions, with more rapidly increasing rates under the Shared Socioeconomic Path5-8.5 and non-adaptability scenarios. Regarding heatwave characteristics, the intensity is the main factor involved in the threat of heatwaves. The increasing trend of characteristic-related mortality burden is similar to that of heatwaves, and the mortality burden caused by the duration of the heatwaves was the largest among all characteristics. This study provides a comprehensive picture of the impact of heatwaves and their characteristics on public health under various climate change scenarios, population changes, and adaptive assumptions. The results may provide important public health implications for policymakers in planning climate change adaptation and mitigation policies, and implementing specific plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Macroalgae aquaculture faces grand challenges from extreme temperature events in the context of global warming. For mapping aquaculture areas and assessing potential risks, it is urgent to evaluate the thermal sensitivity of commercially and ecologically important macroalgae. In the present study, thermal tolerance of commercial macroalgae species in China and sea surface temperature (SST) under current conditions and three Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP1–2.6, SSP3–7.0, SSP5–8.5) scenarios in 2050 were collected for calculating thermal safety margin (TSM), an index of thermal sensitivity, for each species in the aquaculture area. Our results indicated that a few species were particularly sensitive to current conditions, and the kelp Saccharina japonica and Ulva pertusa were the most sensitive species to heat and cold stress, respectively. As indicated by the regional thermal sensitivity (RTS) (i.e., the mean of TSMs for all species in each grid cell), the commercial macroalgae located in southern China (20–25°N) were more sensitive to heat stress, while the commercial macroalgae located in the regions of 27–40°N was more sensitive to cold stress. Commercial macroalgae nearby the Yangtze River Estuary (~30°N) were sensitive to both heat and cold stress. Under the three SSP scenarios, macroalgae aquaculture would be more sensitive to heat stress, and the impacts from cold stress would relatively weaken in 2050. Our findings provide crucial information for the management of macroalgae aquaculture and for climate change mitigation and adaptation in China. • Species-specific and region-specific thermal sensitivity of macroalgae aquaculture in China were evaluated. • The impacts of heat stress will increase while cold stress will decrease in the future in the face of climate change. • Macroalgae farming potentially is running out of traditional geographies. • Effective adaptation and mitigation efforts are urgent for the sustainable development of macroalgae aquaculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Northeast China (NEC) is one of the major agricultural production areas in China and also an obvious region of climate warming. We were motivated to investigate the impacts of climate warming on the northern limits of maize planting. Additionally, we wanted to assess how spatial shifts in the cropping system impact the maize yields in NEC. To understand these impacts, we used the daily average air temperature data in 72 weather stations and regional experiment yield data from Jilin Province. Averaged across NEC, the annual air temperature increased by 0.38 °C per decade. The annual accumulated temperature above 10 °C (AAT10) followed a similar trend, increased 66 °C d per decade from 1961 to 2007, which caused a northward expansion of the northern limits of maize. The warming enabled early-maturing maize hybrids to be sown in the northern areas of Heilongjiang Province where it was not suitable for growing maize before the warming. In the southern areas of Heilongjiang Province and the eastern areas of Jilin Province, the early-maturing maize hybrids could be replaced by the middle-maturing hybrids with a longer growing season. The maize in the northern areas of Liaoning Province was expected to change from middle-maturing to late-maturing hybrids. Changing the hybrids led to increase the maize yield. When the early-maturing hybrids were replaced by middle-maturing hybrids in Jilin Province, the maize yields would increase by 9.8 %. Similarly, maize yields would increase by 7.1 % when the middle-maturing hybrids were replaced by late-maturing hybrids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]