Effects of climate change on heating and cooling degree days and potential energy demand in the household sector of China

Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, globally ~0.85C (0.65 to 1.06C) over the period of 1880 to 2012 Continued emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) will cause further warming, with a projected temperature increase of 0.3 to 4.8C by the end of the century (2081-2100) relative to the present day (1986)(1987)(1988)(1989)(1990)(1991)(1992)(1993)(1994)(1995)(1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005) (IPCC 2013). Significant warming in the last decades has also occurred in China, as in other parts of the world, at a larger rate than the global mean (e.g. Zhai & Pan 2003, CCSNARCC 2011).