Top China Official Admits Climate Danger

'Huge impact' looms, he says
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 23, 2015 12:02 AM CDT
Top China Official Admits Climate Danger
A family riding on an electric bike is silhouetted against the sun setting on a coal-fired power plant in Beijing.   (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

China is experiencing more dramatic temperature changes than the world average, and climate change could have a devastating effect on the country, according to Beijing's top weather scientist, although there's no sign that the warning will be linked to emissions cuts in the world's biggest greenhouse-gas producer. Meteorological administration chief Zheng Guoguang told the official Xinhua news agency that climate change could have a "huge impact" on the country, causing major "ecological degradation" and reduced crop yields, according to the BBC, which notes that the admission is unusually frank for a Chinese official. Zheng also warned that with the risk of climate-related disasters increasing, major infrastructure projects like new dams and railways are in jeopardy, NPR reports. (More China stories.)

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