Environmental governance in the People’s Republic of China: the political economy of growth, collective action and policy developments – introductory perspectives

Abstract

The special issue is introduced here by considering the state of the environment and environmental governance in the PRC. While significant, substantial developments in legislation and policymaking remain insufficient to tackle the degradation of the environment and the increasing saliency of environmental issues in Chinese politics. Tremendous challenges remain in the areas of natural resources governance, environmental health, and transition paths in agriculture and urban development. They need to be addressed by an even stronger commitment of the Chinese leadership, accompanied by significant reforms in the areas of environmental litigation, the transparency of local government decision-making, and the capacity of the self-organisation of Chinese citizens in mobilising on environmental issues.

Keywords:

• China (PRC)
• environmental governance
• environmental policy
• environmental challenges

Acknowledgement

Some of the articles in this special issue were initially presented at an International Conference on Public Policy held at the Academy of Governance at Beijing Normal University, 5-7 June 2013. We wish to thank the University of Chester, Seoul National University and the University of Hong Kong for co-organising the conference. We are particularly grateful to Dr Guo Jia for her help in the organisation of the conference and for subsequent editorial assistance.

Notes

1. The survey, conducted by the Pubic Opinion Research Center under Shanghai Jiao Tong University, aimed to find out residents' attitudes toward the country's environmental protection and how they rate the government's performance. It was conducted among 3,400 residents from 34 cities through computer-aided telephone interviews in March and April 2013.

2. Among many other cases, the protest in Kunming in 2013 opposing a petrochemical plant to produce paraxylene (PX) was widely reported. The same year a thousand people took to the streets in the Songjiang district of Shanghai against plans for a lithium battery factory amid concerns about water and air pollution. The plans were eventually canceled by the authorities.