SciDev.Net

The role of developing countries in climate change mitigation has been and continues to be a contentious issue. Developing countries' emissions are predicted to surpass those of industrialised countries within the first half of this century, but no formal commitments to reduce emissions have been made.

This report, prepared for the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, examines six countries — Brazil, China, India, Mexico, South Africa and Turkey — in the context of climate change mitigation. Ongoing efforts in these countries have helped reduce emissions, though not necessarily in the name of mitigating climate change.

The authors find that overall, over the past three decades, these countries have reduced the growth rate of their emissions by 300 million tonnes. The motivations for such efforts include poverty alleviation, economic development, energy security and local environmental protection. This demonstrates that climate change mitigation can and does occur in the context of development that aims to be sustainable.

This report is comprehensive for the countries studied. It is very accessible and likely to be of interest to anyone engaged in the debate about mitigation in the South.

The report is available in pdf format only. An executive summary is availably online here.

China is likely to focus its efforts on reducing poverty through economic growth, which will have consequences for how the country addresses climate change. This OECD study considers the effects of a carbon tax on health and agricultural productivity.

The paper shows that there is considerable scope for slowing emissions growth without hurting economic growth. The health benefits of reducing regional pollution are significant, and the welfare gains from improved agricultural productivity are almost as great. The combined health and agricultural benefits of a carbon tax make reducing carbon dioxide emissions using such a tax a realistic goal.

While somewhat technical, this report is well researched and gives a thorough assessment of the subject. It is pertinent reading for anyone interested in climate change and human health, including health care professionals.

This document is available in pdf format only. An abstract is available online here.

In October 2004, China submitted its initial National Communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, providing a detailed picture of the country and its activities within the context of climate change.

This is the executive summary of the National Communication. It provides insight into the Chinese government's efforts to deal with the issue. It includes a general overview of the country, an emissions inventory (which is not currently required of China under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), climate change impacts and adaptation, policies related to mitigation, and a capacity building assessment.

It also includes an overview of what is needed for national communication, research, systematic observation, and education. Of particular interest is section 4, which describes the country's policies and measures related to reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

This document is key reading for anyone interested in China's role for climate change.

This report, published in English and Chinese by the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), is the result of a 30-month project exploring how climate change is affecting agriculture in China.

The project involved numerous participating research institutions from China and the United Kingdom, and a steering committee including representatives from both countries' government ministries.

A regional climate model, PRECIS, was used to develop climate change scenarios for four crops in China: maize, wheat, rice and cotton. Based on these scenarios, the effects of an increase in temperature of three to four degrees Celsius can be predicted.

The results suggest that maize, rice and wheat fields that are not fertilised by spraying them with carbon dioxide could be 37 per cent less productive as a result of climate warming.

And while cotton yields are generally expected to increase in a warming environment and with higher levels of carbon dioxide_, the level of increase is uncertain and also affected by other factors, such as water and nutrient availability.

 This is an interesting and accessible example of a collaborative assessment of climatic impacts in a specific region of the world. The project also produced national scenarios of socio-economic development in relation to Chinese agriculture, which will be valuable for the sector in the long term.

The role of developing countries in climate change mitigation has been and continues to be a contentious issue. Developing countries' emissions are predicted to surpass those of industrialised countries within the first half of this century, but no formal commitments to reduce emissions have been made.

This report, prepared for the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, examines six countries — Brazil, China, India, Mexico, South Africa and Turkey — in the context of climate change mitigation. Ongoing efforts in these countries have helped reduce emissions, though not necessarily in the name of mitigating climate change.

The authors find that overall, over the past three decades, these countries have reduced the growth rate of their emissions by 300 million tonnes. The motivations for such efforts include poverty alleviation, economic development, energy security and local environmental protection. This demonstrates that climate change mitigation can and does occur in the context of development that aims to be sustainable.

This report is comprehensive for the countries studied. It is very accessible and likely to be of interest to anyone engaged in the debate about mitigation in the South.

The report is available in pdf format only. An executive summary is availably online here.