As climate change and human activities have had a profound and lasting impact on the hydrologic progresses, it is urgent to assess and separate the responses of runoff to the two driving factors. In this study, the variations of precipitation, evaporation and temperature in the Yongding River basin were examined for over five decades in 1957-2010. The results show that it is a wet period during the 1960s and 1970s but a dry period since 1980s. Climate change and human activities have significant influences on the runoff in this basin. The SWAT hydrological model was established to confirm the need of runoff restoration for the following research. With regard to the runoff quantitative responses to climate change and human activities, climate change is the dominant influence factor with a contribution of 65.4%. However, as the value of observed stream flow is almost equal to that caused by human activities, the driving factor of human activities cannot be neglected in future study.

Cooling and heating energy consumption of office building during 1971-2010 was simulated by using energy consumption simulation software (TRNSYS). By combining climate projection data under two emission scenarios (low emission: B1; medium emission: A1B), the impact of climate change on office building energy consumption during 2011-2100 was assessed. The results show that heating load of office building significantly decrease in the next 90 years but increase of cooling load is found. The increase rate of cooling load is higher than the decrease rate of heating load, resulting in the weak increase of total energy consumption. Under the B1 scenario, the rates of decrease in heating load and increase in cooling are less apparent compared with the A1B scenario. The change rate of total energy consumption is not apparently different between the two scenarios. Compared with 1971-2010, the average multiannual energy loads of office building in 2011-2050 are about 10% less for heating, about 12% more for cooling and over 2% more for total energy consumption under the B1 and A1B scenarios. The decrease of heating load and increase of cooling load are more apparent in 2051-2100. Particularly, the cooling load and total energy consumption will increase by about 30% and 8%, respectively. Large difference in the change rate between the two scenarios in 2051-2100 is found in the cooling load.

The CH₄ emissions from landfills in China in 2007 were estimated based on three-dimensional emission factors matrix and point emission sources database, by FOD model recommended by IPCC. The region, scale and operating time of landfills constitute the three dimensions of the emission factors matrix, which were obtained by laboratory analysis and in situ investigation. The key parameters, i.e., waste composition, degradable organic carbon ratio, CH₄ correction factor, oxidation factor and recovery rate, were carefully analyzed regarding to the three dimensions. The point emission sources database consists of 2107 landfills in cities and towns of China in 2007. The results show that the CH₄ emissions from landfills were 1.186 million tons in 2007. Compared with the CH₄ emission of 2.20 million tons in 2005 reported in the Second National Communication on Climate Change of the People’s Republic of China, the significant discrepancy mainly comes from statistical data of landfills, e.g., number of landfills and amount of waste disposed in landfills. The annual CH₄ emissions of most landfills were less than 700 tons, whereas there were 279 landfills with emissions larger than 1000 tons, and only 10 larger than 10000 tons. Jiangsu Province ranked the largest emitter with 98700 tons while Tibet ranked the smallest one with 2100 tons. Generally speaking, the emissions from eastern provinces, such as Jiangsu, Guangdong and Zhejiang, were larger than those from western provinces (Ningxia, Tibet and Qinghai).

The 2℃ target has become a political consensus among global community. The translation from the temperature rise target to international and national carbon budget should be built upon consistent scientific findings. The current studies on Earth system models, mitigation trajectories and allocation schemes still lack necessary consistency to reach political consensus. The decision-making basis for a top-down climate regime is not ready. The most practical way is to further enhance bottom-up national mitigation pledges through ratcheting assessment, with a view to share the mitigation burden in an equitable manner.

A self-designed questionnaire survey was conducted to investigate the features and response capability of climate disasters in developing countries. The results show that the flood, drought and sea level rise are three major disasters, which are characterized by high frequency, spatial extent and losses. Most developing countries have not yet established a comprehensive disaster management system. The enhancement of disaster monitoring and early warning is one of the primary tasks of developing countries in addressing climate change and reducing disaster risk. Therefore, to help developing countries establish and improve monitoring and early warning system based on the operational work and experience of China could be one of the important fields of China’s Climate Change South-South Cooperation work.

The paper applies Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) to investigate the Chinese public’s willingness to pay (WTP) for CO₂ emissions reduction policy. Face to face interviews were conducted to collect 1653 valid questionnaires from Beijing, Shanghai, Shandong Province and Fujian Province. A model was constructed to understand the factors that determined WTP. The results indicate that the Chinese public is willing to pay 201.86 CNY annually to support the policy in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Participants from Beijing show the highest WTP, followed by participants from Fujian and Shandong, and those from Shanghai report the lowest WTP. The findings reveal that participants with higher income, higher satisfaction to current life, and being aware of climate issues are willing to pay more for CO₂ emissions reduction, and those who are young, male and members of the Communist Party also indicate a higher WTP. The results imply that translating the public’s willingness to protect climate into actions should be taken into account in China’s low carbon policy. There is a need to consider the difference of willingness to pay for emissions reduction among different social groups if the market-based mechanisms such as carbon tax would be designed to facilitate emissions reduction.