As the world’s largest carbon emitter, China is arguably the most important player influencing global climate efforts and the direction of low-carbon energy transitions around the world. China’s cities account for 85 percent of its total carbon emissions. Some local governments have engaged in a wide range of climate and environmental policy experiments that have major implications for China’s ability to achieve its carbon neutrality goals. These include, among others, experimental programs for low-carbon provinces and cities, carbon emissions trading systems, green finance, green construction, low-carbon pilot communities, and low-carbon pilot industrial parks. However, these local climate efforts are uneven: local governments are pursuing low-carbon energy transitions with varying levels of commitment and using different implementation strategies.
In this talk at Harvard Climate Action Week 2024, Postdoctoral Research Fellow Weila Gong explained why Chinese cities have taken divergent approaches, pointing to the emergence of contrasting climate leadership roles and unequal resources mobilization capacity across areas and regions as major factors.
