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The link between environmental frames and policy outcomes in China is explored. Environmental nongovernment organizations' (ENGOs) issue interpretation and presentation affect environmental policy changes. The notion of 'frame alignment' is introduced, and it is argued that it can serve to link ENGOs' advocacy needs and frame resonance among different stakeholders, thus successfully promoting advocacy. Based on in-depth interviews and analysis of news reports over a span of 10 years, it is found that where ENGOs are able to align their issue frames with those of the central state and media, the resulting frame resonance smooths policy change. In contrast, where ENGOs adopt conflict frames critical of state authorities, the absence of alignment leads to a slim chance of policy change. The findings shed light on why some ENGOs successfully create linkage and achieve their desired outcomes while others fail to do so. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the space of a few years, China's global image with regard to environmental matters has significantly improved. Particularly since Xi Jinping's coming-to-power in 2012 China's reputation in the global climate change regime has improved markedly and it has gained accolades for a new determination to reverse environmental degradation at home. China's incipient green transformation is partly due to a new actor constellation in environmental governance, a striking feature of which is the prominence of ad hoc campaigns that offer quick results but that may undermine the creation of law-based enforcement mechanisms in the long term. Another development -China's increasing use of emerging technologies and big data analytics - has given rise to new forms of government-business alliances. These new players and innovative approaches have injected momentum into China's environmental governance system and suggest that, contrary to conventional wisdom, authoritarian regimes can be responsive to citizen demands under certain circumstances. Yet it remains to be seen whether long-term environmental goals can be met, due to a pervasive lack of accountability, the weakening of civil society and heavy constraints on public participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China presents a paradox for scholars of environmental politics. Environmental politics and policymaking in China now includes elements critical to environmental protection in the West, including non-governmental participation and stringent environmental legislation. Yet the country’s authoritarian system constrains popular participation, and environmental outcomes are generally poor. China’s South–North Water Transfer Project (SNWTP) embodies this puzzle: despite the pluralisation and development of environmental politics and policymaking, the SNWTP is a technocratic mega-project that imposes high social, economic, and environmental costs. What explains this puzzle, and what are the implications for understanding environmental politics in other authoritarian developing countries? I evaluate two current theories – Ecological Modernisation and Authoritarian Environmentalism – against the SNWTP case, and argue that it illustrates the ability of governments to co-opt environmental politics to pursue other strategic objectives, in turn necessitating greater attention to the mix of persuasive and coercive strategies in environmental politics. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Visual imagery in environmental politics can be an effective way to engage the public. However, research based on 21 interviewees with activists from nine environmental non-governmental organisations (ENGOs) in China suggests that the value of images in promoting environmental initiatives is not limited to the exhibition of them, but is also seen in the making of them. Increasingly in China, ENGOs are offering free natural photographic tutoring to the public. Camera lenses are seen as conduits to recast self-nature relations, which has the potential to raise environmental awareness and promote ENGO membership. Drawing on both theories of social movements and contemporary Chinese subaltern political sociology, this paper provides new insights into grass-roots environmental mobilisation in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite growing interest in China's response to climate change, few studies address what is happening at the sub-national level. Hong Kong has implemented several mitigation and adaptation climate-related initiatives. An analytical framework combining multi-level governance with the concepts of institutionalisation and legitimisation is applied to Hong Kong's climate initiatives. Hong Kong's ability to devise a climate change strategy that is institutionalised and legitimated is found to be constrained by a range of climate policy-specific and broader socio-economic and political factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do stakeholder demands in response to environmental impacts and top management (TMT) motivations for environmental protection (EP) influence the integration of environmental management programmes within corporations in China? Substantial differences are observed in the way different stakeholder groups influence TMTs' motivations for EP. Local government demands for EP are associated with perceptions of risk from noncompliance. Industry pressure for EP not only has a broader effect but also enhances a belief in the 'business-case' for such programmes, and TMT's commitment to EP. Yet societal pressure is associated with a reduction of enterprise motivations for EP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses climate change policy in China. According to the author, the issue of climate change in China does not involve a great deal of conflict because of the accepted view among government, business leaders, and many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that climate commitment depends on the fulfillment of China's economic and social goals. Topics include an in-depth overview of Chinese nationalism and the author's hypothesis on why the dynamics of global politics is creating a political atmosphere in which the Chinese public remains loyal to the state's defense of autonomy when responding to climate change.

The latest round in the UN climate change negotiations, COP15, held in Copenhagen in December 2009, was intended to determine binding goals, targets and measures for the time beyond 2012, when the Kyoto Protocol's first commitment period ends. Instead, it produced a non-binding political agreement - the Copenhagen Accord. To explain why, the key contributions of China and the United States are assessed. Domestic institutions and circumstances influenced and constrained these states' actions, with consequences that amplified longstanding weaknesses in the UNFCCC and shaped the COP's result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the face of unprecedented economic and industrial growth levels, China is rapidly developing its system of environmental governance. Coming from a conventional command-and-control approach to environmental policy, which fitted well its centrally planned economy, transitional China is swiftly reforming and diversifying its environmental approaches, instruments, arrangements and legal regulations. This article aims to grasp and assess the direction, extent and speed of change in China's environmental governance. New relations between state, market and civil society, and an opening up towards the outside world characterise new modes of environmental governance that try to turn China's development path in more sustainable directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article identifies the central themes that emerge from this issue regarding the development of environmental governance in China. In several respects China appears to be adopting a familiar Western model, including the emergence of more progressive environmental policies, expanding environmental capacities, a shift from regulation to governance and an increasing role for civil society. Yet China retains distinctive features, notably the central role of the state, the continuing restrictions on democratic accountability and, significantly, some innovative environmental initiatives. As China opens up to the world her position as a global superpower is creating an increasingly important new role in shaping global environmental politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzes the process of transition and evolution in the Chinese government in response to the international pledge to achieve sustainable development. Development of environmentalism and policy making; Institutional changes inspired by international aid initiatives; Analysis of the dynamics, tensions and political conflicts that have shaped the development and implementation of the environmental agenda.