Global climate change will have a heavy impact on China's
agricultural production, according to the latest research findings.
"If we do not take urgent measures, crop yields in China may
decrease by 5 to 10 percent in the coming 30 years," Lin Erda, head
of a climate and agriculture research team, told China Daily
yesterday.
About 10 percent of China's farmland is going to vanish because of
global warming, said Lin, quoting from research findings of a group
of scientists from China and the United Kingdom who are studying
the impact of climate change on China's agriculture.
In
addition to decreases and fluctuations in crop yields, there will
be changes in the disposition of China's agricultural lands and
possible increases in investment in the sector, Lin said.
Lin, president of the Agro-meteorology Institute of the Chinese
Academy of Agricultural Sciences, is acting head of the UK-China
climate project, which was launched in 2001.
Lin made his comments prior to the wrap-up of a two-day UK-China
workshop on the impact of climate change on agriculture yesterday
in Beijing.
Li
Xueyong, vice-minister of science and technology, said yesterday at
the workshop that the Chinese government has effectively curbed
emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide by controlling
population growth, improving energy efficiency and expanding
afforestation work.
"Today's workshop is evidence that we are working hard to settle
the world problem through international cooperation," said Li,
whose ministry has poured a lot of energy into climate change
research.
Scientists from the ministry are conducting basic research on
climate change theory, technology and methods to slow down climate
change and national strategies, policies and actions.
Official statistics indicate that between 1998 and 2002, China
earmarked a total of 580 billion yuan (US$70 billion) for
environmental protection, accounting for 1.29 percent of its gross
domestic product (GDP) for the period.
The cooperation between China and the UK in climate change work has
been applauded by the visiting UK Vice-Minister of Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs Dennis Macshane.
"The workshop is an important step for us following the World
Summit on Sustainable Development (which was recently held in South
Africa's Johannesburg)," he said at the workshop. China and UK have
both approved the Kyoto Protocol, showing their willingness to join
hands with other countries to combat environmental degradation, he
added.
(China
Daily September 13, 2002)