Reference News, August 23 report: According to the "Nikkei Shimbun" on August 22, China has surpassed the United States in research capabilities in the field of climate change. A survey conducted by the Nikkei Shimbun on the number of papers in various countries showed that China's research papers in the field of climate change exceeded those of the United States in 2023. China is vigorously promoting research on issues related to climate change, continuously enhancing its voice in the world, and playing a leading role in decarbonization technologies. On the other hand, due to the Trump administration's disregard for climate change issues, the United States' research strength may further decline.

The Nikkei Shimbun referred to the Scopus database during this analysis, which is an international academic paper database operated by Elsevier, a Dutch academic publishing giant. The analysis covered approximately 650,000 papers published on academic journals and other platforms, including those with the keyword "climate change."

The time range of this survey was from 1992 to 2024, and it counted information about the research institutions of the paper authors. 1992 was the year when the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development was held in Brazil. Climate change research includes the analysis of climate mechanisms, future temperature and precipitation predictions based on calculations, and the evaluation of the effectiveness of response measures.

Global climate change strategies are based on these academic papers and research results. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) evaluates research literature published around the world and compiles it into reports.

The IPCC reports are used as scientific basis for the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Statistical results of the number of papers authored by research institutions in different countries show that in 2023, Chinese research institutions published approximately 14,000 relevant papers, surpassing the United States, which had been at the top of the world for 30 consecutive years (approximately 13,000 papers).

In 2024, a total of approximately 77,000 relevant papers were published globally, of which about 20% (approximately 17,000 papers) came from China, while the United States had about 14,000 papers, and the gap between the two continued to widen.

Data from agencies such as Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry show that by the end of the fourth quarter of 2024, Chinese companies accounted for 55% of the sales share in the global electric vehicle market, ranking first in the world, with steady growth in sales in Europe and Asia markets.

China's solar and wind power generation has also seen significant growth. In 2023, the total installed capacity of renewable energy accounted for more than 50% of the country's total power generation capacity, exceeding thermal power generation for the first time. In the field of decarbonization, China has become a major player in the world.

In terms of "citation counts," which measure the quality of papers, China's ranking has also shown a clear upward trend. For papers published between 2004 and 2024, the Nikkei Shimbun counted the number of papers that ranked in the top 1,000 in terms of annual citation counts, and the results showed that China surpassed the United States in 2022 and rose to the top of the world.

Professor Masahiro Eguchi of the University of Tokyo, who is familiar with climate change issues, pointed out: "China's research capabilities have significantly improved in all fields, and its presence in climate change research is increasingly prominent."

The Japanese media said that under Trump's second term, the U.S. attitude towards climate change has become more negative. The Trump administration drastically cut funding for institutions engaged in climate change research in its 2026 fiscal year budget proposal. (Translated by Ma Xiaoyun)

This is a photo taken on August 8 of the Shandong Dongying Chenyao Kengdong Photovoltaic and Energy Storage Integration Demonstration Project (Xinhua News Agency photo)

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7541654353354965547/

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