This book shows how city and metropolitan regional governments working in tandem with national governments can change the way we think about responding to climate change.

In the last thirty years, China has experienced rapid economic development and urbanisation which has resulted in high levels of environmental degradation and has put considerable pressure on the country’s infrastructure and natural resources. As China commits to considerably lower the carbon intensity of its economy, this volume analyses and explains the governance of climate change mitigation responses in major Chinese cities. The book focuses specifically on two highly carbon intensive sectors, buildings and transport, in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong to explore how collaborative municipal networks function in practice in Chinese cities. The authors find that effective coordination relies on the political will of local administrative elites, the political significance attached to climate change issues, the legitimate authority granted to the coordinating agency, and human and financial capitals. Collaboration is hampered by limited span of network engagement, inadequate authority of the primary network participants, insufficient input and output legitimacy of the sectoral innovations, and missing linkages across functionally segregated sectors. The book concludes that the enhanced collaboration and coordination between networks that has emerged in the process of low carbon transitions is transforming the Chinese environmental state into a more pluralistic, inclusive and legitimate one. This book will be of interest to researchers and practitioners across disciplines including Chinese studies, environmental politics and policy, urban studies, and planning and geography.

Asian countries are among the largest contributors to climate change. China, India, Japan and South Korea are among the top ten largest carbon emitters in the world, with South Korea, Japan and Taiwan also some of the largest on a per capita basis. At the same time, many Asian countries, notably India, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines and Thailand are among those most affected by climate change, in terms of economic losses attributed to climate-related disasters. Asia is an extremely diverse region, in terms of the political regimes of its constituent countries, and of their level of development and the nature of their civil societies. As such, its countries are producing a wide range of governance approaches to climate change. Covering the diversity of climate change governance in Asia, this book presents cosmopolitan governance from the perspective of urban and rural communities, local and central governments, state-society relations and international relations. In doing so it offers both a valuable overview of individual Asian countries’ approaches to climate change governance, and a series of case studies for finding solutions to climate change challenges.

How individuals and the government are changing life in China's polluted cities Over the past thirty years, even as China's economy has grown by leaps and bounds, the environmental quality of its urban centers has precipitously declined due to heavy industrial output and coal consumption. The country is currently the world's largest greenhouse-gas emitter and several of the most polluted cities in the world are in China. Yet, millions of people continue moving to its cities seeking opportunities. Blue Skies over Beijing investigates the ways that China's urban development impacts local and global environmental challenges. Focusing on day-to-day choices made by the nation's citizens, families, and government, Matthew Kahn and Siqi Zheng examine how Chinese urbanites are increasingly demanding cleaner living conditions and consider where China might be headed in terms of sustainable urban growth. Kahn and Zheng delve into life in China's cities from the personal perspectives of the rich, middle class, and poor, and how they cope with the stresses of pollution. Urban parents in China have a strong desire to protect their children from environmental risk, and calls for a better quality of life from the rising middle class places pressure on government officials to support greener policies. Using the historical evolution of American cities as a comparison, the authors predict that as China's economy moves away from heavy manufacturing toward cleaner sectors, many of China's cities should experience environmental progress in upcoming decades. Looking at pressing economic and environmental issues in urban China, Blue Skies over Beijing shows that a cleaner China will mean more social stability for the nation and the world.

Climate change poses one of the greatest challenges for human society in the twenty-first century, yet there is a major disconnect between our actions to deal with it and the gravity of the threat it implies. In a world where the fate of countries is increasingly intertwined, how should we think about, and accordingly, how should we manage, the types of risk posed by anthropogenic climate change? The problem is multi-faceted, and involves not only technical and policy specific approaches, but also questions of social justice and sustainability. In this volume the editors have assembled a unique range of contributors who together examine the intersection between the science, politics, economics and ethics of climate change. The book includes perspectives from some of the world's foremost commentators in their fields, ranging from leading scientists to political theorists, to high profile policymakers and practitioners. They offer a critical new approach to thinking about climate change, and help express a common desire for a more equitable society and a more sustainable way of life.

This book is written by experts from Institute of Urban and Environmental Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and National Climate Center, this book provides an overview of China’s effort to implement the Paris Agreement. In addition to measures put in place to reduce runoff in cities, improve flood risk management, promote decarbonization, and combat desertification, the book also addresses issues such as scientific assessment in relation to climate change, the implications of US domestic climate politics for China-US relations, and China’s emerging leadership role in the post-Paris age. The volume is a must-read for anybody who wants to understand how China’s aggressive climate adaptation policies help shape the country’s growing weight in global climate governance.

An overview of the forms of agency in urban climate politics, including their strengths, limitations and the power dynamics between them. Written by renowned scholars from around the globe, it is ideal for researchers and practitioners working in the area of urban climate politics and governance.