China and India facing up to the economic chill of global warming

A REPORT by six government departments in China yesterday warned that climate change would harm the country's economy and environment in the coming decades, with potentially devastating cuts in agricultural output.

The warning, from the State Meteorological Bureau, Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Technology, among others, could be a sign that China - which has experienced dramatic rises in carbon emissions because of a booming economy largely powered by coal-fired power stations - is about to take significant steps to address the issue.

India, another rapidly industrialising third world country, also warned yesterday that it and other developing countries, could not afford to copy the West's "wasteful lifestyle".

The Chinese report was published shortly after it was revealed that 2006 had been hotter than average in China and that there had been more natural disasters than normal.

"Climate change will increase the instability of agricultural production," the report said. "If no measures are taken, in the latter half of the century, production of wheat, corn and rice in China will drop by as much as 37 per cent."

It said that average temperatures in China would rise by 2C or 3C in the next 50 to 80 years and that this would cause "the speed of change to accelerate". The report added that evaporation rates for some inland rivers would increase by 15 per cent. China already faces a severe water shortage, especially in the north. However, the document did not say what measures should be taken to combat climate change.

Earlier this week, the state news agency, Xinhua, reported that temperatures in 2006 were, on average, 1C higher than in other years. Meteorological officials said there was less rain than normal, down 16mm on an average year.

Dong Wenjie, the director of the Beijing Climate Centre, said the high temperatures had been caused by global warming, while the annual meteorological report released by the China Meteorological Administration said 2006 had been a disastrous year for loss of life and property damage.

Typhoons, floods and droughts killed 2,704 people and caused economic losses of about 14 billion in 2006, second only to 1998 when an extremely severe flood swept the country, the report said.

China's size and geography make it prone to natural disasters. Every year, they affect 400 million people and 120 million acres of farmland, with economic losses equal to between 1 per cent and 3 per cent of gross domestic product.

Meanwhile in India, Manmohan Singh, the prime minister, called for new ways of working that would avoid damage to the environment. "We, in the developing world, cannot afford to ape the West in terms of its environmentally wasteful lifestyle," he said.

As global emissions rise, the Indian subcontinent is expected to be one of the most seriously affected areas on the planet, with more frequent and more severe floods and droughts, more disease and poor crop yields.

Addressing more than 5,000 scientists, Mr Singh said India's energy security demanded the development of affordable sources of renewable power.

Technologies to cut carbon emissions must be made available to all so the planet could be saved, he said. "This must be a shared effort that enables the poor to improve their quality of life, their well-being, their consumption levels, without being forced to pay the price for the profligacy and excessive consumption of the rich."