Leadership in high-level forums on energy governance: China and Russia compared

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the participation of China and Russia in the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM). In which policy initiatives have these two countries participated? In which initiatives have they taken the lead? Building on the club theory and international relations literature, we approach the research questions by offering an in-depth analysis of the policy dynamics inside the CEM. From a theoretical viewpoint, we posit that China has been more active in the CEM than Russia, which our empirical analysis confirms. However, Russia has also been involved in several CEM initiatives. Concerning leadership, China has demonstrated a greater interest in playing that role than Russia. We conclude that, overall, China makes a better strategic use of the CEM in terms of gathering information and developing networks with other member states as well as private actors in order to implement measures for overcoming the challenges of clean energy transition.

KEYWORDS:

• Authoritarian regimes
• carbon emissions
• climate clubs
• clean energy technology
• economic benefits and costs
• post-communist countries

Acknowledgments

We thank Rui Luo, Anastassia Obydenkova and three anonymous reviewers for valuable comments on earlier drafts of this article. Laurence Crumbie deserves credit for language editing.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Information was gathered from the following website: https://climateactiontracker.org/countries/china/pledges-and-targets/.

2. Information was gathered from the following website: https://climateactiontracker.org/countries/russian-federation/.

3. For example, President Putin expressed scepticism regarding the Fridays For Future movement and doubted that it is independent: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-49918912.

4. ISO 50,001 is an international standard that defines the criteria for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and improving an energy management system, enabling organisations to follow a systematic approach in their endeavours to realise the continual improvement of energy performance.

5. For budget, see https://budget.house.gov/publications/report/president-trump-s-2020-budget-dangerous-exercise-ignoring-reality-and-threat.

6. For safety regulations, see https://www.npr.org/2019/05/03/720008093/trump-administration-moves-to-roll-back-offshore-drilling-safety-regulations?t=1615135288548. For mining regulations, see https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-mining-resolution-trump/trump-moves-to-loosen-mining-regulations-approve-projects-as-he-exits-idINKBN29D1G7.

7. For more, see https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/country-profiles/countries-o-s/russia-nuclear-power.aspx.