This book assesses China's reputation as a global clean energy champion, and applies institutional and public policy theories to explain how the country has achieved so much and why there continue to be so many unintended consequences and constraints to progress. It considers the extent to which the government has successfully boosted the manufacture and deployment of low-carbon electricity generating infrastructure, cleaned up thermal power generation, and enhanced energy efficiency, dramatically constraining China's rising carbon dioxide emissions, but also examines the substantial political and financial capital required to reinforce the predominantly administrative policy instruments and the mix of special interests and poor coordination that are endemic to the energy sector. Arguing that the current approach seems to be encountering ever diminishing returns, the book considers whether ongoing sector reforms and the new national emissions trading scheme can reinvigorate the nation's clean energy trajectory.
"China as a Global Clean Energy Champion: Lifting the Veil adds an interesting and important set of insights ... . It provides a rare peek at what is going on behind the scenes of Chinese energy transition. Aside from area scholars, it is also widely accessible to non-specialist readers, and does a great job of writing to a broader audience. Readers will have a better understanding of China and its energy transition, and of its thoughts and practices ... ." (Xiao Wang and Xiufeng Zhao, Pacific Affairs, Vol. 94 (4), December, 2021)
"This volume, China as a Global Clean Energy Champion (hereafter 'the book' or 'China and Clean Energy') is a substantial contribution to energy research and scholarship. ... this book, which I heartily commend to my readers attention, is an enormously valuable contribution to international energy scholarship and literature in its own right." (William F. Fox, OGEL, Oil, Gas & Energy Law Intelligence, October 07, 2019)
"This volume, China as a Global Clean Energy Champion (hereafter 'the book' or 'China and Clean Energy') is a substantial contribution to energy research and scholarship. ... this book, which I heartily commend to my readers attention, is an enormously valuable contribution to international energy scholarship and literature in its own right." (William F. Fox, OGEL, Oil, Gas & Energy Law Intelligence, October 07, 2019)