The environmental state

Alex Y. Lo () and Chen Xiang ()

Chapter 2 in China's Climate Policy, 2025, pp 15-38 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This chapter provides an overall framework to analyze China's climate governance over the past decade. It juxtaposes the notion of “authoritarian environmentalism” with China's distinctive approach rooted in ecological civilization and explores how the Party's quest for political legitimacy has spurred a recentralization of power, resulting in intensified top-down ecological campaigns and tighter controls. Yet, alongside these authoritarian elements, policy experimentation has expanded the use of incentive- and agent-based mechanisms, underscoring the complexities of imposing stringent environmental mandates across diverse local contexts. The chapter also highlights the emergence of the entrepreneurial state, emphasizing China's turn to financialization and market-based tools for green innovation. The result is a hybrid governance model, one that fuses centralized authority, selective market engagement, and cutting-edge innovation. By capturing these tensions and synergies, this chapter reveals how China's climate governance challenges prevailing assumptions and reshapes global debates on sustainable development.

Keywords: Authoritarian environmentalism; Ecological civilization; Recentralization of power; Entrepreneurial state; Green finance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035341252
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