There seems to be a battle over the environment being waged within the Chinese government. Earlier this month, parts of the government endorsed the “Under the Dome” documentary before other parts of the government censored and then banned it outright.

Now the country’s top meteorologist has told China’s official Xinhua news agency that global warming poses significant risks to the country including increased droughts, lower agricultural output and potential risk to major infrastructure projects in China. It is rare for public officials to be so candid about the ecological risks facing the country.

“To face the challenges from past and future climate change, we must respect nature and live in harmony with it. We must promote the idea of nature and emphasize climate security.” said Zheng Guogang in advance of World Meteorological Day on Monday.

In addition, in its annual statement on climate change last week, the China Meteorological Administration stated that, “by the end of the 21st century, there will be higher risks of extreme high temperatures, floods and droughts in China. The population growth and wealth accumulation in the 21st century is projected to have superposition and amplification effects on the risks of weather and climate disasters.”

In November of last year, China and the United States signed a climate change agreement aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. To date however, China has set no specific goals for reductions, promising only that emissions would peak by 2030, according to the BBC.

By virtue of its large population and reliance on coal, China overtook the U.S. as the top emitter of greenhouse gasses in 2006 according to the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency.

China, however, faces some daunting challenges in addressing greenhouse gas emissions. Despite it’s rapid growth in recent decades, about 6 percent of the population still lives in extreme poverty (less than $1.25 per day) and the current per capita income in only $6,560 (US), according to the World Bank. As a result there is considerable demand on the government for further economic growth and expansion.

“Job one is economic growth, and if the side-effects of that create some sort of crisis, then the system is designed to react, but not before,” Alex Wang, professor at Berkeley and an expert in China’s environmental legislation told Reuters in 2013.

Additionally, many of China’s top polluters are state owned or state backed companies which push back against efforts to regulate or clean up the environment.

“I sense that local environmental agencies are very sincere and really want to clean up, but then they get a call from the vice-mayor and are told the company is very important and shouldn’t be touched,” Ma Jun, head of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE), a non-profit group that monitors pollution across China.

China also has a more pressing problem than the potential future harm from climate change.

The focus of “Under the Dome” was not climate change but air pollution. In this case the same sources contribute to both, however air pollution is more of an immediate problem for many Chinese.

According to a report from the Chinese government, in 2014, 66 of 74 Chinese cities failed to meet the governments clean air standards. Cutting back on pollutants such as coal would improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the same time, but Chinese officials are under intense pressure to do it without damaging the economy or the profitability of state owned enterprises.

China and the United States combine to produce 45 percent of the worlds greenhouse gas emissions. When international representatives meet in Paris later this year to attempt to hammer out a climate change agreement, leadership from the two countries will be essential.