III. Enhancing Basic Capability

To build up its basic capability in this regard, during the 11th Five-Year Plan period China continued to improve relevant legislation, management system and working mechanism for addressing concerning climate change, strengthened statistical and calculation research and institutional construction, raised the level of scientific research and policy study, and further strengthened relevant education and training.

1. Formulating Relevant Laws and Regulations and Important Policies

Improving relevant laws and regulations. China has formulated or amended the Renewable Energy Law, Circular Economy Promotion Law, Energy Conservation Law, Clean Production Promotion Law, Water and Soil Conservation Law and Islands Protection Law, promulgated the Regulations on Civil Buildings Energy Conservation, Regulations on Public Organizations Energy Conservation and Regulations on Drought Control, and issued the Interim Measures for Energy Conservation Evaluation and Review of Fixed Assets Investment, Measures for Energy Conservation Supervision of High-Energy-Consuming Special Equipment and Interim Measures for Supervision of Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction of National Enterprises. It has also conducted pre-legislation study on climate change.

Formulating and implementing China's National Climate Change Program. This Program defines the guiding principles, main fields and key tasks concerning the work of addressing climate change. As required by this document, 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government have all worked out their own programs to address climate change, and have put them into practice. The work to address climate change has been gradually incorporated into the plans of economic and social development of each locality, and placed on the priority agendas of local governments. Relevant departments have also worked out action plans and working programs in such fields as marine resources, meteorology and environmental protection.

Promulgating a series of important policy documents. China has promulgated the Mid- and Long-term Plan for the Development of Renewable Energy, Mid- and Long-term Plan for the Development of Nuclear Energy, the 11th Five-Year Plan for Renewable Energy Development, Decision on Energy Conservation Work, Opinions on Accelerating the Development of Circular Economy and other important documents. The Comprehensive Working Plan for Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction in the 11th Five-Year Plan Period, released in 2007, stated the goals, key fields, and policy measures regarding energy conservation and emission reduction, and played a significant role in promoting energy conservation and emission reduction work in the period 2006-2010.

2. Improving Management Systems and Working Mechanism

China has built and constantly improved its management system and working mechanism to address climate change, which features the unified leadership of the National Leading Group to Address Climate Change, administration by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), division of work with separate responsibilities among relevant departments and wide participation of various localities and industries. In 2007, the National Leading Group to Address Climate Change was set up, with premier of the State Council as its head and 20 ministers as its members. The NDRC was assigned the specific work by the leading group, and in 2008 the NDRC set up a department to coordinate and supervise the relevant work. Following that, relevant government departments established functional organs and working mechanisms to address climate change work in their own fields. To coordinate the inter-ministry work, a liaison office was set up within the framework of the National Leading Group to Address Climate Change in 2010, and the National Panel on Climate Change was adjusted and strengthened to ensure scientific decision-making. All provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government have established their own leading groups and working organs to address climate change, and some sub-provincial or prefectural cities have also set up offices to address climate change. Relevant departments under the State Council have founded supportive organs such as the National Center for Climate Strategy and International Cooperation of China, and the Research Center for Climate Change, and some universities and scientific institutions have opened their own climate change research organizations.

3. Enhancing Statistical and Accounting Capabilities

Improving energy and related statistical systems. China has issued the Implementation Plan and Methods for Statistical Monitoring and Reviewing of Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction, further improved the energy-consumption accounting calculation system, and worked out ten new energy statistical systems, which basically cover energy consumption by all sectors of society. The various localities have improved their energy statistical setups and personnel placement to spur statistical work in this field. All provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government have set up energy statistics organizations, and key energy consumption units have boosted their energy statistical and accounting work. A reporting system has been in place for key energy consumption units to report their energy utilization, and standardize their submission of such reports. Technical guidance for forest carbon sink metering and monitoring has been formulated to promote the construction of such metering and monitoring systems.

Reinforcing greenhouse gas emission accounting. In the wake of its submission of the Initial National Communication on Climate Change of the People's Republic of China to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at the tenth session of the Conference of the Parties in 2004, China organized the compilation of a greenhouse gas emission list and the second national communication report in 2005. It has built a national databank of greenhouse gas lists, issued the Guidance for Compiling Provincial Greenhouse Gas Emission Lists (Trial), and started the compilation work at provincial level and held a series of training courses in this regard.

4. Fueling Support from Scientific and Policy Research

Augmenting fundamental research. China has compiled its first and second National Evaluation Reports on Climate Change. It has conducted research into the relations between climatic change and environment quality, coordinated control of greenhouse gas and pollutants, climate change and the water cycle mechanism, and climate change and forestry response measures. It has built a data set on climate change trend, and released a data set on Asian climate change prediction. It has opened several special laboratories in sea-air interaction and climate change, and has conducted large amounts of work in fundamental research.

Promoting climate-friendly technological R&D. With the support of the National Hi-tech R&D Program ("863 Program") and the National Key Technologies R&D Program, China has started R&D into clean and efficient utilization of energies, energy-saving technology and equipment in certain key industries, key energy-saving technology and materials for buildings, key technology and equipment of clean production for key industries, and pattern of a low-carbon economic development and integrated application of key technologies, and has made significant progress with a number of invention patents of its own intellectual property rights. China also pushes forward the R&D of technology for the development and application of renewable and new energies, and key technology for the smart grids. It has made evaluations of the practice of using greenhouse gas as a resource to enhance the petroleum recovery ratio, and of the capacity of underground storage and storage of carbon dioxide in underground saline water, and has carried out R&D in the preparation and sifting of new, safe and efficient absorption materials. Included in the National Key Technologies R&D Program through the 11th Five-Year Plan are special programs to study the impacts caused by and adaption to climate change and corresponding key technologies to address them, and to demonstrate the technologies used to adapt to climate change in typical fragile zones. In terms of carbon emission monitoring, China has begun its research in Orbiting Carbon Observatory. With the support of the "863 Program" and the National Key Technologies R&D Program, China has started to research in and demonstrate carbon capture and emission reduction technologies applied in major agricultural and forestry ecosystems, and key technologies in forestry eco-construction, and research into the technologies for monitoring, early warning and addressing major agriculture-related climatic disasters. It has carried out evaluation and applied research into technologies of energy conservation and emission reduction for key industries, which is a project of the National Key Technologies R&D Program. By 2010, the country had built 288 state engineering research (technological) centers and 91 state engineering laboratories.

Strengthening strategy and policy study. Centering on the major tasks in addressing climate change during the 12th Five-Year Plan period, China is studying a long-term strategy to cope with the issue of climate change, a strategy of low-carbon development, and a national overall strategy to address climate change and carbon trading mechanism, as well as relevant laws and regulations at home and abroad related to climate change. It has started a special scientific action, with a total investment of 110 million yuan, to deal with climate change, and begun studying major strategies and technical issues to promote its own green development.

5. Strengthening Education and Training

Gradually including climate change into the national education system. Education on environmental protection and climate change has been given more attention in secondary schools and universities, and relevant courses, teaching and research bases have been set up. All these have played an important role in fostering professionals in this regard.

More training on climate change for officials. Collective studies, lectures and reports have been organized to help officials enhance their awareness of climate change and scientific management. The training classes organized by relevant departments under the central government cover such subjects as climate change, sustainable development and environmental management, capability building of provincial decision-makers in charge of climate change work, capability building of local officials in charge of clean development mechanism, climate-change-adaptation capability building, and capability building of provincial greenhouse gas lists compilation. Local governments have also organized various training courses on climate change.