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Accepted Paper:
No more coal abroad! Unpacking the drivers of China's green shift in overseas energy finance
Yixian Sun
(University of Bath)
Ying Wang
Chuyu Liu
(University of Amsterdam)
Paper short abstract:
The paper explains China's decision in 2021 to stop financing coal projects abroad. Using data from elite interviews and official documents, we show how the new policy was jointly shaped by foreign governments, transnational non-governmental actors, and domestic policy entrepreneurs.
Paper long abstract:
Over the past fifteen years, China has surpassed the World Bank as the leading financier in the global energy sector. However, unlike western-led multilateral development banks, the majority of these Chinese energy investments were in fossil fuels, especially coal. For this reason, China's approach to govern overseas energy finance have been highly criticized due to its negative impacts on energy transition in the Global South. In September 2021, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that China will stop supporting new coal-fired electricity projects abroad. This pledge was made beyond expectations of many observers outside of China as it deviates from China's long-term approach of non-interference when providing development finance. What can explain this dramatic policy change made by Beijing? Drawing on the literature on multi-level governance and Chinese politics, we argue that in the context of rising geopolitical tensions between China and the West, the Chinese government become more receptive to the proposals of greening China's overseas engagement. More specifically, the 'no coal abroad' policy was driven by factors through three channels: pressure of Western governments, advocacy of transnational environmental organizations, and initiatives of domestic policy entrepreneurs. To substantiate our argument, we use government documents and elite interviews to show how these three types of forces interact with each other to lead Beijing to make the decision in September 2021. By unpacking the complex policy-making processes of China's overseas energy finance, the paper contributes to the burgeoning literature on China's global engagement and environmental governance of the Belt and Road Initiative.
Click the star to add/remove an item to/from your individual schedule.
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Accepted Paper:
Paper short abstract:
Paper long abstract:
Over the past fifteen years, China has surpassed the World Bank as the leading financier in the global energy sector. However, unlike western-led multilateral development banks, the majority of these Chinese energy investments were in fossil fuels, especially coal. For this reason, China's approach to govern overseas energy finance have been highly criticized due to its negative impacts on energy transition in the Global South. In September 2021, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that China will stop supporting new coal-fired electricity projects abroad. This pledge was made beyond expectations of many observers outside of China as it deviates from China's long-term approach of non-interference when providing development finance. What can explain this dramatic policy change made by Beijing? Drawing on the literature on multi-level governance and Chinese politics, we argue that in the context of rising geopolitical tensions between China and the West, the Chinese government become more receptive to the proposals of greening China's overseas engagement. More specifically, the 'no coal abroad' policy was driven by factors through three channels: pressure of Western governments, advocacy of transnational environmental organizations, and initiatives of domestic policy entrepreneurs. To substantiate our argument, we use government documents and elite interviews to show how these three types of forces interact with each other to lead Beijing to make the decision in September 2021. By unpacking the complex policy-making processes of China's overseas energy finance, the paper contributes to the burgeoning literature on China's global engagement and environmental governance of the Belt and Road Initiative.
The rise of China and the re-scaling global development politics
Session 1 Friday 8 July, 2022, -