This presentation applies a governance perspective to examine how China’s national ecological civilization framework. With Hangzhou as a case, the study finds that the city’s party-state authorities respond to central and popular pressure for better environmental governance by using new public management and other neo-liberal policy instruments such as performance contracts, public sector performance reviews, results management procedures, market-based and co-governance instruments, and social participation. By doing so, the local Party-state aims to test a new approach that could contribute to narrowing the so-called ‘implementation gap’ in China’s local green politics while enhancing the local party-state’s transparency, responsibility to society, and accountability in environmental politics.
Jørgen Delman, Professor, China Studies, Department of Cross-cultural and Regional Studies (ToRS), University of Copenhagen. His current research focuses on political change at the local level through governance reforms with a focus on implementation of climate change politics at the city level. Other current interests are: The green transition of China’s energy system and China’s engagement in development of global critical infrastructure through Belt and Road initiative.
Email: Jorgen.delman@hum.ku.dk
