China braced for heavy rains as UN hails its role as ‘global climate leader’

{"text":[[{"start":9.3,"text":"China was braced for extreme rainfall to batter large parts of the country in the coming days, even as the visiting UN climate chief heaped praise on the world’s biggest carbon emitter for its role as a “global climate leader”."}],[{"start":22.25,"text":"Simon Stiell, head of the UN climate change arm, was in Beijing to address a Tsinghua University event on Thursday, coinciding with the visit to the capital by US President Donald Trump, who has attacked climate change as a hoax."}],[{"start":36.85,"text":"China accounts for about one-third of today’s global carbon emissions, and is also highly vulnerable to climate change, facing severe risks from heatwaves, droughts and flooding."}],[{"start":48.2,"text":"China’s National Meteorological Center issued the weather warning on Thursday about a “large-scale rainfall event” over central and eastern parts of the country."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":57.150000000000006,"text":"Since May, most areas in central and eastern China had less than 20mm of cumulative rainfall and were in various stages of drought from mild to severe, it said."}],[{"start":68.15,"text":"But it warned that rainfall was expected to sweep the region over the next four days, bringing flash floods as well as “geological disasters and urban flooding”. Parts of south-western China would also be affected. Its chief forecaster said the weather system was driven by strong flows of warm and moist air."}],[{"start":88.4,"text":"Global warming has exacerbated extreme weather conditions. The atmosphere holds about an extra 7 per cent of moisture for each degree of temperature rise. The present rate of warming is estimated at 1.3C to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels."}],[{"start":105.85000000000001,"text":"While US funding for the UN has been curtailed, China remains a major contributor to its budget while also being classified as a developing country, which limits its mandatory financial obligations."}],[{"start":117.35000000000001,"text":"China increased its new budget contribution to the UN climate change arm last year to cover 20 per cent, up from 15 per cent before."}],[{"start":125.05000000000001,"text":"Stiell used his speech this week to hail China for being a “leading light” in climate multilateralism, and gently urged it to move away from the use of fossil fuels “further and faster”."}],[{"start":136.55,"text":"“China has played a major role in getting the global energy transition to a point which is now irreversible,” Stiell said, outlining its surge in electric power generation, cars and batteries."}],[{"start":148.55,"text":"However, China remains the world’s largest consumer and producer of coal, accounting for more than 50 per cent of global coal use. "}],[{"start":156.8,"text":"In the first two months of this year, even before the Middle East war took its effect on energy supply, China added coal power capacity which amounted to nearly half that of new renewables over the same period."}],[{"start":169.9,"text":"The scale of the challenge in meeting its vast energy demands was also highlighted by a paper in Nature this week."}],[{"start":177.15,"text":"The research found China had significantly cut urban air pollution and mortality in making the shift to new-energy vehicles. But the data showed it must also accelerate its heavy-duty diesel vehicle electrification and step up the adoption of electric vehicles in poorer, rural areas."}],[{"start":193.35,"text":"At present, the country is not on track to meet its goal of carbon neutrality by 2060 in large part because of its rise in coal use. A recent slowdown in EV sales has also followed the rollback of subsidies."}],[{"start":207.29999999999998,"text":"A visiting EU delegation to Beijing last week stressed that global warming could only be tackled through collaboration. A coalition chaired by the EU, China and Brazil on compliance carbon pricing was launched in Florence, Italy on Thursday in a bid to create a global alliance on carbon pricing."}],[{"start":225.45,"text":"The move is seen by many climate experts as a necessary tool for reducing greenhouse gas emissions."}],[{"start":232.5,"text":"“This coalition is very important,” said Li Gao, China’s deputy minister of ecology and environment. It is expected to be joined by the UK, Canada, France, Turkey, New Zealand and Germany."}],[{"start":245.05,"text":"Stiell also called for China to widen its leadership role at this year’s UN climate summit, due to be held in Turkey in November."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":260.40000000000003,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1778859834_5221.mp3"}