IV. Strengthening Capacity Building

Since 2014, the Chinese government has actively strengthened top-level design for low-carbon development, promoted the development of legal systems and key policies to deal with climate change, improved management systems and working mechanisms, enhanced the development and application of low-carbon technologies, and improved the statistical accounting system, so as to enhance the capability in addressing climate change.

(I) Improving Macro-guidance Systems

Strengthening decision-making institution. NDRC maintained its efforts as the coordination and liaison office of national leading group to address climate change, and strengthened the consultations and exchanges regarding key domestic and international policy issues for addressing climate change. Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Development and Reform Commission set up Climate Change Department in 2015, and there were 10 provincial development and reform commissions in total setting up such a department. National climate change experts committee kept playing an active role in decision-making and consultancy and providing support for the state's key climate decisions.

Strengthening laws, regulations and standards. The Law on Addressing Climate Change (Draft) was drafted and opinions were solicited accordingly, which accelerated the legislative process. The Sixteenth Meeting of the Twelfth NPC Standing Committee adopted the revised "Atmospheric Pollution Prevention Law" on 29 August 2015. China Meteorological Administration led efforts to revise Artificial Weather Modification Regulations.

Playing a leading and planning role. In September 2014, NDRC issued National Planning for Addressing Climate Change (2014-2020), and most provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) issued a special provincial planning for addressing climate change, which pushed the inclusion of climate change contents into national economic development planning. The Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) launched the inspection and assessment of the implementation of National Special Technology Development Planning for Addressing Climate Change during the 12th Five-Year Plan Period. Civil Aviation Administration completed the preliminary study on Planning for Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction and Addressing Climate Change in Aviation Industry during the 13th Five-Year Plan Period.

Undertaking key strategic research. Since 2014, NDRC further promoted China's Low-carbon Development Strategy Research Program, completed the review of each project under the program, and compiled Overall Planning for China's Low-Carbon Development Strategy, General Report on China's Low-Carbon Development Strategy and the research report of each project task. This provides key support for China to carry out systematic studies on its overall low-carbon development strategies and phased, field-based roadmaps, to put forward the objectives and tasks, pathways, policy systems and supporting measures of low-carbon development, to promote domestic low-carbon development, and to actively participate in international negotiations.

Implementing low-carbon product standards, labeling and certification system. Guangdong and Chongqing actively promoted low-carbon product certification, implemented and expanded low-carbon certification systems in representative industries and product categories. As of the end of July 2015, there were 39 enterprises obtaining low-carbon product certification. AQSIQ and the Standardization Administration finalized the national standards for GHG emissions accounting and reporting requirements for electricity producers. The State Railway Administration developed High-Speed Railway Design Standards and Green Railway Station Assessment Criteria to promote the development of green railway stations. The State Forestry Administration issued two forestry industry standards in 2014: Technical Specifications for Carbon Sink Afforestation, and Guidelines for Carbon Sink Measurement Monitoring in Reforestation Projects.

Reinforcing carbon intensity examination and assessment. In June to August 2015, NDRC assessed the carbon dioxide emissions reduction per unit of GDP in 2014 of provincial governments, and urged each province to put their own targets, tasks and work into practice to ensure the realization of carbon intensity reduction target set for the 12th Five-Year Plan. Around carbon emissions targets management, it strengthened national carbon intensity accounting and situation analysis, and gave full play to the guiding and supervising role of carbon emissions target assessment for provincial governments.

(II) Strengthening Scientific and Technological Support

Strengthening basic research. Since 2014, MOST, China Meteorological Administration and other 14 departments jointly organized the compilation of the third National Assessment Report on Climate Change, a systematic summary of the latest results of research on climate change. Relying on National Technology Support Program and other resources, MOST continued deploying the task of Special Planning for Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage Technology Development during the 12th Five-Year Plan Period, and jointly issued with MIIT the Action Program for 2014-2015 Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction Technology Special Project, to advance the research and development of key common technologies in this regard, the use of advanced and applicable technologies, and energy conservation and emission reduction technology innovation demonstration projects. It arranged and implemented key national scientific research programs for global change research, and focused the support on the studies of the response of Indian and Pacific Ocean to global warming and their role in regulating climate change, the climate change in global typical arid and semi-arid regions and its impact, the remote sensing and monitoring of polar environments and earth surface processes, etc. China Meteorological Administration released China Greenhouse Gases Bulletin (2013) and China Climate Change Monitoring Bulletin (2014). Chinese Academy of Sciences continued the strategic special technology pilot research projects including "Carbon Budget Certification and Related Issues on Addressing Climate Change", "Key Technologies and Demonstration of Clean, Efficient and Gradient Use of Low-Rank Coal", etc. NDRC supported local authorities to conduct policy research and enhance capacity building via Clean Development Mechanism Funds.

Conducting studies on climate change adaptation. MOST organized feasibility assessment for technology support projects including "Impacts of Climate Change in Priority Areas and the Development and Application of Risk Assessment Techniques", "Development and Application of Climate Change Adaptation Technologies in Coastal Areas", etc. China Academy of Sciences actively promoted the herdsmen and farmers' income increasing and ecological environment assessment in the Tibetan Plateau, and advanced the construction of wild stations, Chinese ecosystem research network, alpine surface processes and environmental monitoring network, and other related scientific and technological support platforms. MWR started "Impacts of Climate Change Research on China's Water Security and Countermeasures" and other key research projects. The State Forestry Administration actively promoted the studies of the response of forest to climate change, and the total number of forestry ecological network positioning stations reached 166, which further improved the network layout. MOA accelerated grassland ecological environment monitoring, and had built 162 state grassland fixed monitoring sites. The State Oceanic Administration established China offshore short-term climate forecast system to strengthen the response of the maritime sector to climate change.

Releasing the catalogue of low-carbon technologies. NDRC organized the collection, screening and assessment of low-carbon technologies, and published Catalogue of State Promoted Priority Low-Carbon Technologies. MOST organized the compilation of Inventory of Promoted Energy-Saving and Low-Carbon Technological Achievements (1st Batch).

(III) Promoting the Construction of Statistics and Accounting Systems

Strengthening basic statistics systems and capacity building. Since 2014, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) issued System of Statistical Indicators to Address Climate Change, Rules on Department Statistics Reporting to Address Climate Change (Trial), Table of Statistics Needs of Government Integrated Statistical System to Address Climate Change, etc. It officially established the statistical reporting system to address climate changes, collected and reviewed the statistics on addressing climate change in 2013. A leading statistics group for addressing climate change consisting of 23 departments including NDRC and NBS was established, and the working mechanism with comprehensive government statistics as the core and cooperative division of labor between concerned departments was set up. The Bureau actively organized professional capacity building for statisticians involved in climate change addressing in statistics departments in all regions, and carried out climate change addressing statistics pilot work in 15 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities).

Reinforcing national, local and corporate accounting capability. China organized in an order manner and promoted the third national communications on climate change, the first "Two-Year Update Report", and GHG inventory preparation. Based on the assessment and acceptance of provincial GHG inventories in 2005 and 2010, NDRC organized the joint review of two-year provincial GHG inventories to ensure inventory quality, released GHGs emissions accounting methods and reporting guidelines for 24 industries covering chemical, steel and electricity sector, and advanced the system design and system construction for corporate GHG emissions data direct reporting. The local actively undertook GHGs emissions accounting and reporting capacity building, and organized enterprises to gradually complete GHG emissions reporting.