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This article examines discourses about grassland degradation in China as expressed by herders, government officials and researchers, presenting findings from fieldwork in Xilinguole League, Inner Mongolia. Recognizing degradation discourse and grassland restoration policies as key sites of political contestation, this study does not try to arrive at the scientific facts about degradation, but rather seeks to illuminate the mechanisms by which grasslands are identified as degraded, and the implementation of policies to restore and protect the grasslands. A key finding is that policy outcomes are widely divergent and difficult to predict. This is not merely due to differences among actors in terms of their interests, access to resources, power, values or knowledge, but as much a result of contradictions and tensions inherent in key policy goals, opening up spaces for local resistance as well as selective policy implementation. This highlights the open-ended and contested nature of China's environmental state project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution evaluates the geopolitical and technical issues involved in climate stabilization and discusses alternative technical paths towards the required emission reductions in the US, China and the world. There are no plausible scenarios in which climate stabilization is compatible with a pace of capital accumulation required for economic and political stability under a capitalist system. Meaningful and effective actions towards climate stabilization presuppose and require fundamental social change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This edited volume argues that China's development poses the greatest ever environmental challenge for the modern world in terms of speed, size and scarcity. The volume is organized around the greening of the Chinese state and society: can the inclusion of sustainable development principles into governance, management and daily practices by social actors lead to sustainable development per se? This introduction sketches the different scholarly camps around greening and sustainable development, ranging from sceptical to radical environmentalism. The contributions demonstrate that China is showing clear signs of greening as new institutions and regulations are created, environmental awareness increases and green technologies are implemented. However, the question remains whether this is sufficient to effectuate long-term sustainable development. The key factors here are the sheer speed of China's economic growth, the size of its population, and the relative scarcity of its natural and mineral resources. Chinese development presents compelling reasons for rethinking the viability of greening. It is necessary to move beyond both alarmist visions of an environmental doomsday, and optimistic notions that incremental changes in technology, institutions and lifestyles are sufficient for sustainability. It might be more fruitful — and not only for China — to consider ‘precautionary’ rather than ‘absolute’ limits to growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of this contribution is the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of China, and more particularly the processes of environmental reform in the region. The authors discuss developments in environmental policy over the past three decades and explore the utility of Ecological Modernization Theory as a basis for future environmental reform at the local level and as a mechanism for tackling broader regional environmental concerns. The contribution also explores linkages between technology policy and the environment in Hong Kong, arguing that while the SAR possesses certain competitive advantages, greater attention must be given to fostering and facilitating technological innovation in the environmental sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the limiting factors to environmental protection and policy implementation in China. The country's environmental performance, governance and economic status among industrialized nations was examined. It found out that the government attempts in protecting the environment were hindered by various constraints such as socio-economic, institutional and legal factors. The country also faced the problem of maintaining its economic growth with ecological sustainability.