Developing an indicator system and assessing China's progress on climate change adaptation in 2010–2022 from dual-dimension

China, as one of the regions most severely impacted by climate change globally, has consistently prioritized the issue of climate change adaptation. The Chinese government has implemented a series of measures to adapt to climate change in alignment with national economic and social development plans...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yang Song, Xiu Yang, Huimin Li, Mingyu Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:Environmental and Sustainability Indicators
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665972725000340
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832557511959379968
author Yang Song
Xiu Yang
Huimin Li
Mingyu Liu
author_facet Yang Song
Xiu Yang
Huimin Li
Mingyu Liu
author_sort Yang Song
collection DOAJ
description China, as one of the regions most severely impacted by climate change globally, has consistently prioritized the issue of climate change adaptation. The Chinese government has implemented a series of measures to adapt to climate change in alignment with national economic and social development plans, yielding positive outcomes. Based on relevant theories, practices, and domestic and international strategic arrangements, we have developed an assessment indicator system from dual-dimension, encompassing both the adaptive stage and the adaptive sector, to assess China's progress in adapting to climate change over the period from 2010 to 2022. This system encompasses indicators related to the impacts of climate change, work progress indicators, effectiveness indicators, among others. The preliminary assessment reveals that since 2010, the influence of climate risks on China has exhibited an upward trajectory. Notably, China has continuously advanced its efforts in promoting adaptation concepts; enhancing monitoring and early warning systems; implementing disaster prevention and mitigation strategies; addressing public health concerns; while significantly improving adaptive capacities within key areas such as agriculture, forestry ecosystems; water resources management; infrastructure development. These endeavors have resulted in substantial adaptation effects and enhanced resilience. Looking ahead, this study will track the progress of climate adaptation actions in China, deepen the analysis of the sensitivity and relevance of adaptation actions, and aim to propose quantitative scientific methods to provide decision support for climate adaptation strategies. Horizontal gap analysis with countries shows that China's climate risks are higher than the global average. China's adaptive capacity and effectiveness still lag behind the international advanced values in 4 areas: disaster prevention, agriculture, forestry and ecology, and freshwater and Marine. In the areas of public health and infrastructure, China has reached or even exceeded the international advanced level. Future research should address issues such as incorporating adaptation costs into the indicator system, establishing long-term monitoring mechanisms for dynamic adjustments, developing local-level indicators, and analyzing the sensitivity and correlation of adaptation actions to enhance the scientific support for climate change adaptation work.
format Article
id doaj-art-4fcc25378c624d29b2a58e04a4a9d9ab
institution Kabale University
issn 2665-9727
language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Environmental and Sustainability Indicators
spelling doaj-art-4fcc25378c624d29b2a58e04a4a9d9ab2025-02-03T04:16:56ZengElsevierEnvironmental and Sustainability Indicators2665-97272025-06-0126100613Developing an indicator system and assessing China's progress on climate change adaptation in 2010–2022 from dual-dimensionYang Song0Xiu Yang1Huimin Li2Mingyu Liu3Institute of Climate Change and Sustainable Development, Tsinghua University, Beijing, ChinaInstitute of Climate Change and Sustainable Development, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China; Corresponding author.Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing, ChinaInstitute for National Governance and Global Governance, Tsinghua University, Beijing, ChinaChina, as one of the regions most severely impacted by climate change globally, has consistently prioritized the issue of climate change adaptation. The Chinese government has implemented a series of measures to adapt to climate change in alignment with national economic and social development plans, yielding positive outcomes. Based on relevant theories, practices, and domestic and international strategic arrangements, we have developed an assessment indicator system from dual-dimension, encompassing both the adaptive stage and the adaptive sector, to assess China's progress in adapting to climate change over the period from 2010 to 2022. This system encompasses indicators related to the impacts of climate change, work progress indicators, effectiveness indicators, among others. The preliminary assessment reveals that since 2010, the influence of climate risks on China has exhibited an upward trajectory. Notably, China has continuously advanced its efforts in promoting adaptation concepts; enhancing monitoring and early warning systems; implementing disaster prevention and mitigation strategies; addressing public health concerns; while significantly improving adaptive capacities within key areas such as agriculture, forestry ecosystems; water resources management; infrastructure development. These endeavors have resulted in substantial adaptation effects and enhanced resilience. Looking ahead, this study will track the progress of climate adaptation actions in China, deepen the analysis of the sensitivity and relevance of adaptation actions, and aim to propose quantitative scientific methods to provide decision support for climate adaptation strategies. Horizontal gap analysis with countries shows that China's climate risks are higher than the global average. China's adaptive capacity and effectiveness still lag behind the international advanced values in 4 areas: disaster prevention, agriculture, forestry and ecology, and freshwater and Marine. In the areas of public health and infrastructure, China has reached or even exceeded the international advanced level. Future research should address issues such as incorporating adaptation costs into the indicator system, establishing long-term monitoring mechanisms for dynamic adjustments, developing local-level indicators, and analyzing the sensitivity and correlation of adaptation actions to enhance the scientific support for climate change adaptation work.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665972725000340Adaptation to climate changeIndex systemClimate change risksAssessment methodology
spellingShingle Yang Song
Xiu Yang
Huimin Li
Mingyu Liu
Developing an indicator system and assessing China's progress on climate change adaptation in 2010–2022 from dual-dimension
Environmental and Sustainability Indicators
Adaptation to climate change
Index system
Climate change risks
Assessment methodology
title Developing an indicator system and assessing China's progress on climate change adaptation in 2010–2022 from dual-dimension
title_full Developing an indicator system and assessing China's progress on climate change adaptation in 2010–2022 from dual-dimension
title_fullStr Developing an indicator system and assessing China's progress on climate change adaptation in 2010–2022 from dual-dimension
title_full_unstemmed Developing an indicator system and assessing China's progress on climate change adaptation in 2010–2022 from dual-dimension
title_short Developing an indicator system and assessing China's progress on climate change adaptation in 2010–2022 from dual-dimension
title_sort developing an indicator system and assessing china s progress on climate change adaptation in 2010 2022 from dual dimension
topic Adaptation to climate change
Index system
Climate change risks
Assessment methodology
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665972725000340
work_keys_str_mv AT yangsong developinganindicatorsystemandassessingchinasprogressonclimatechangeadaptationin20102022fromdualdimension
AT xiuyang developinganindicatorsystemandassessingchinasprogressonclimatechangeadaptationin20102022fromdualdimension
AT huiminli developinganindicatorsystemandassessingchinasprogressonclimatechangeadaptationin20102022fromdualdimension
AT mingyuliu developinganindicatorsystemandassessingchinasprogressonclimatechangeadaptationin20102022fromdualdimension