Energy governance in China: A mixture of democratic environmentalism and authoritarian environmentalism

Abstract

This paper challenges the conventional wisdom that environmental governance in China is a typical example of authoritarian environmentalism. By analyzing the case of energy governance, it indicates that China has become aware that energy and environmental issues are inter-related and complicated and that more diverse and multi-level solutions are required to reach increasingly ambitious national goals. In the context of ongoing state reform, local governments, enterprises, and civil society have played more active roles during the process of policy formulation and implementation. But meanwhile, the central government is tightening regulation and supervision to reduce non-compliance with its energy initiatives and to safeguard national security and social stability. Therefore, energy governance in China has displayed a mixture of democratic and authoritarian elements. The state can adopt different measures based on the specific situation it faces and the final outcome it wants to reach. More broadly, this case reveals that there is no simple relationship between the regime type and its corresponding energy governance model. The study of environmental politics should not be confined to the examination of formal institutional features but also needs to take concrete practices in every country into account.