Impacts and mitigation of climate change on Chinese cities

China is experiencing rapid urbanization. The development of cities may be hampered by reduced access to resources and energy as well as natural disasters caused by climate change. In addition, the emission of greenhouse gases from construction and development may accelerate global climate change. In this review, we examine the effects of climate change and present possible solutions for Chinese cities. We also consider the development of low carbon cities as one option for reducing the emission of greenhouse gases. Finally, we discuss several issues related to climate change that merit further consideration.

Research highlights
► China is experiencing urbanization of unprecedented scope.
► Chinese cities are seemingly doomed to be at high risk because of climate change.
► Developing low carbon cities is one option for reducing the emission of greenhouse gases.