Experts explain how China knows it has to act on climate change to help get to a net zero future

China gets smashed by even more extreme climate events than Australia — and this is why it knows it must act to save lives.

From floods and famines to droughts and dirty air, Beijing knows it must act on climate change because it has more to lose – and potentially more to gain – than anyone, observers say.

Recent research by Professor Warwick McKibbin shows China gets smashed by even more extreme climate events than Australia – nearly three times as many in the past 120 years – and when they hit, they cause more deaths, impact more people, cost more, and lead to greater productivity losses in the agriculture sector.

China's President Xi Jinping. Picture: AFP

“China has the biggest negative impact from climate change, and they know that,” Prof McKibbin said.

The renowned economist said he calculated China’s losses from air pollution in a report for the country’s premier in the 2000s, and he found the cost was stupidly high – about five to six per cent of GDP.

“That was from people dying, people being sick, and damage to infrastructure from high pollution impact,” Prof McKibbin said.

“They have one of the highest GDP losses out of all the larger emitters, so it’s in their interest to do CO2 emission reductions as part of a global agreement.”

In Australia, concerns around climate change have centred mainly on droughts, bushfires and coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef, but’s it’s a different set of issues impacting life in the world’s most populous nation.

Water security, cyclones and storms, sea level rises, heatwaves and desertification are just some of the big environmental problems China is facing.

Professor Will Steffen from the Climate Council. Picture: Gary Ramage

“The big bread bowl in north east China – sort of the equivalent of the midwest of the US – it produces a lot of food for that country, and it is drying out,” Professor Will Steffen from the Climate Council said.

“They are already suffering a drying trend, and the evidence is accumulating now that that’s an effect of climate change, so they have an exceptionally strong national vested interest in getting climate change under control,” he said.

“They’ve got 1.4 billion mouths to feed, and they need to have a very good agricultural system, so that's a big motivation for them.”

But climate change could also play to Beijing’s advantage in a few key ways, particularly in the manufacture of lithium ion batteries and solar panels. China is the global leader in the supply of both.

“I think China will try and push steep cuts because they think they’ve got a technological edge to achieve them, compared to other countries,” Prof McKibbin said.

“Also it puts them out in front as a global leader, and they want to be a global leader.”

This story is part of Mission Zero, an education series that aims to show Australia how a net zero world will bring jobs, growth and a cleaner, smarter way of living. As a subscriber you’ll be receiving a daily newsletter that captures the issues we face and how we can take steps to protect our future.

Originally published as Experts explain how China knows it has to act on climate change to help get to a net zero future