Report recommends heavy investment into climate-resistant infrastructure

China could enjoy high returns from investment into climate-resilient infrastructure development, according to a report that focuses on three case study areas in the country.

Unveiled by the World Resources Institute on Monday in Beijing, the report stressed the importance of climate adaptation strategies, including climate-resilient infrastructure, for the world to tackle the global climate crisis.

"With the worrying increase in the global average temperature, current climate mitigation efforts are deemed insufficient to cope with the increasing climate risks," the report read.

Against this backdrop, investment into climate adaption projects are urgently needed to minimize potential economic losses from extreme weather events, it said.

The report also emphasized the window of opportunity for accelerating climate-resilient infrastructure development in China is "now".

This year marks the start of the country's efforts to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and go carbon-neutral before 2060. The country's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) and its long-term goals in the coming decade have made the construction of new infrastructure a priority.

"If climate-adaption measures can be integrated into the design and construction of new infrastructure," it said, "China will not only become resilient in the face of future climate change, but also gain new economic advantages and create new employment opportunities that can benefit its people."

Focusing on three case study areas — the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, Wuhan, capital of Hubei province and Shenzhen in Guangdong province — the report analyzed the most frequent and widespread events that could affect Chinese infrastructure in the future, such as droughts, waterlogging and storm surges.

It estimated every 1 yuan ($0.16) of investment into climate-resilient infrastructure in China can generate 2 to 20 yuan of returns over a 30-year period.