TY - JOUR

T1 - Energy policy design and China’s local climate governance

T2 - energy efficiency and renewable energy policies in Hangzhou

AU - Ting, Guan

AU - Delman, Jørgen

PY - 2017/2/7

Y1 - 2017/2/7

N2 - This study probes into climate policy design at city level in China, with Hangzhou’s energy efficiency and renewable energy policiesbetween 2005 and 2014 as a case. The study applies a political action arena approach to accentuate the importance of differentnormative preferences behind climate change policies in relation to Hangzhou’s emerging urban climate governance regime. Threemain categories of policy instruments are identified: i.e. command-and-control, market-based, and collaborative governanceinstruments, and their development over time is examined. It is concluded that in Hangzhou energy efficiency is a more mature and comprehensive political action arena than renewable energy.The study also finds that there has been a significant shift awayfrom preferences towards command-and-control to more marketbasedinstruments, while cooperative governance instruments arestill in their infancy. It finally shows that the design and implementation of local programs, especially the selection of policyinstruments, are strongly influenced by the normative preferencesof local officials. Thus, the approach of Hangzhou’s government tothe design and implementation of climate policies seem to gradually become less authoritarian, more market based, and moreaccountable, due to the inherent complexity of this political actionarena.

AB - This study probes into climate policy design at city level in China, with Hangzhou’s energy efficiency and renewable energy policiesbetween 2005 and 2014 as a case. The study applies a political action arena approach to accentuate the importance of differentnormative preferences behind climate change policies in relation to Hangzhou’s emerging urban climate governance regime. Threemain categories of policy instruments are identified: i.e. command-and-control, market-based, and collaborative governanceinstruments, and their development over time is examined. It is concluded that in Hangzhou energy efficiency is a more mature and comprehensive political action arena than renewable energy.The study also finds that there has been a significant shift awayfrom preferences towards command-and-control to more marketbasedinstruments, while cooperative governance instruments arestill in their infancy. It finally shows that the design and implementation of local programs, especially the selection of policyinstruments, are strongly influenced by the normative preferencesof local officials. Thus, the approach of Hangzhou’s government tothe design and implementation of climate policies seem to gradually become less authoritarian, more market based, and moreaccountable, due to the inherent complexity of this political actionarena.

KW - Det Humanistiske Fakultet

KW - China

KW - local policy design

KW - climate policy instruments

KW - energy efficiency

KW - renewable energy

U2 - 10.1080/23812346.2017.1284430

DO - 10.1080/23812346.2017.1284430

M3 - Tidsskriftartikel

VL - 2

SP - 68

EP - 90

JO - Journal of Chinese Governance

JF - Journal of Chinese Governance

SN - 2381-2346

IS - 1

ER -