China's Fight Against Climate Change

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, China ranks number one as the country with the highest population. Coincidently, the country is a dangerous source of greenhouse emissions that have caused unintended consequences. With 1.4 billion people, it's no surprise that China is a major contributor to climate change, due to the various vehicles, factories, and homes that require fossil-fuel powered electricity. However, the Chinese government is proactively taking steps to avoid further destruction and escalation of global warming. They are pledging to be carbon neutral by the year 2060 and also promising to establish renewable energy as a replacement. People are already suffering from the harsh conditions of pollution in major cities. Dirty air, unclean water, and unstable weather patterns are just a few of the many factors that impact Chinese citizens.

Due to the retention of heat from global warming, temperatures are beginning to rise across the globe and especially in China. The higher temperatures are causing more devastating storms and floods. They are also prolonging the duration of droughts and their intensity. Millions across China will be affected by this, because they will be unable to access clean water, food and resources essential to human survival. Furthermore, the smog in some of the more dense cities in China is horrible, as China has an air quality ranking of 167 on a 1(extremely polluted) to 200+(pollution free) scale. Luckily, the government is stepping in to help with this issue. The president of China has proclaimed that the country will reduce its carbon intensity, ban gas powered cars by 2035, install 1.2 billion kilowatts worth of renewable energy sources, and figure out how to completely stop using carbon by 2060. Nevertheless, China is still lagging behind when compared to other countries transitioning into renewable energy. This undertaking has only just begun in the Chinese government, as they have stayed silent for decades about the adverse effects of climate change.

As of now, the situation is still very grim, as people in China along with people surrounding the nation are getting impacted negatively by the pollution. China is losing economic value as well, due to weather related damage caused by global warming. This could spell great financial downfall for citizens in China over the course of the next few decades, unless President Xi Jinping does something to ease the situation. However, there is something you can do to help. Please donate to the charities down below in order to help people living in major cities in China.

Charities

• Environmental Defense Fund

• https://www.edf.org/offices/beijing-china

-Home to our China program, focused on problems ranging from poor urban air quality, rural poverty and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

• National Resources Defense Council

• https://act.nrdc.org/donate/monthly/?locsrc=nr-glb-nav-btn&source=WEBMEM&_ga=2.13554417.771478840.1621996160-279603704.1621996160

-We are on the frontlines every day waging fierce courtroom battles and hard-hitting campaigns in defense of our climate, health, wildlife, and wild places, and to protect people, vulnerable communities, and the planet.

Works Cited

“Beijing, China.” Environmental Defense Fund, www.edf.org/offices/beijing-china.

“China's Fight Against Climate Change and Environmental Degradation.” Council on Foreign Relations, Council on Foreign Relations, www.cfr.org/backgrounder/china-climate-change-policies-environmental-degradation.

March 15, 2016 Melissa Denchak. “Are the Effects of Global Warming Really That Bad?” NRDC, 21 Apr. 2021, www.nrdc.org/stories/are-effects-global-warming-really-bad.

The World Air Quality Index project. “Beijing Air Pollution: Real-Time Air Quality Index.” Aqicn.org, aqicn.org/city/beijing/.

“U.S. Census Bureau Current Population.” Current Population, www.census.gov/popclock/print.php?component=counter.