Editorial - Environmental Innovation for Sustainable Development: The Role of China

CHINA IS TODAY THE WORLD’S LARGEST USER OF NATURAL RESOURCES, SUCH AS FOSSIL FUELS, BIOMASS, MINERALS ANDmetal ores, but also a leader in environmental innovation for sustainable development. China is today alsothe world’s second largest user of freshwater resources, and the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gasesthat lead to climate change (World Bank, 2015). As per capita natural resources are limited and below the world average (Pamlin and Baijin, 2007), innovation in the environmental field is crucial for enabling sustainable de-velopment. Recently, China has become one of the global leaders in environmental innovation, for example in the fields of hydropower, solar energy, wind energy and electro-mobility (Urban et al., 2012; Lema and Lema, 2012). At the same time, the lack of sufficient domestic natural resources has driven China to invest overseas in low and middle income countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America to access natural resources such as energy and minerals, to access new markets and to create employment overseas for Chinese workers (Mohan and Power, 2008; McDonald et al., 2009). It is theorized that by doing so Chinese actors may be able to transfer environmental technology, innovation and knowledge to countries and trading partners in the global South and thereby influence the development and environment agenda of the recipient countries. Yet little empirical research exists in this field to support or reject this point. This special issue, written by leading experts from China and world-wide, explores the complex and multifaceted relationship of environmental innovation, sustainable development and the role of China, from both the domestic perspective of China and that of China’s overseas impacts in low and middle income countries. The special issue also discusses how China aims for sustainable development and examines these issues from an environmenta

Climate change, disasters and electricity generation

This paper explores the links between changing disaster risks due to climate change and the impacts on electricity generation. We assess the vulnerability of various electricity generation options - fossil fuels, nuclear power, hydropower and renewable energy - to changing disaster risks risks and addresses the implications for energy policy and planning. The paper also makes suggestions on how changing disaster risks could be taken into account in electricity generation

Climate Change, Energy, and Low-carbon Development in the Chinese Context

China faces the challenge of achieving higher levels of development in times of climate change and within a carbon-constrained world. China has begun to implement plans for low-carbon growth, renewable energy and climate change policy. other countries can learn from this experience – both from what has and hasn’t worked. at the same time China can learn how to avoid following the same high-carbon development pathway as developed countries and how to develop low-carbon technologies

Reducing Carbon Emissions: China’s Position

Action on climate change by developing countries like China requires international support at local and national levels, as well as larger and more predictable streams of funding

Comparing the International Knowledge Flow of China’s Wind and Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Industries: Patent Analysis and Implications for Sustainable Development

Climate-relevant technologies, like wind and solar energy, are crucial for mitigating climate change and for achieving sustainable development. Recent literature argues that Chinese solar firms play more active roles in international knowledge flows, which may better explain their success in international markets when compared to those of Chinese wind firms; however, empirical evidence remains sparse. This study aims to explore to what extent and how do the international knowledge flows differ between China’s wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) industries? From a network perspective, this paper develops a three-dimensional framework to compare the knowledge flows in both explicit and tacit dimensions: (i) inter-country explicit knowledge clusters (by topological clustering of patent citation network); (ii) inter-firm explicit knowledge flow (patent citation network of key firms); and, (iii) inter-firm tacit knowledge flow (by desktop research and interviews). The results show that China’s PV industry has stronger international knowledge linkages in terms of knowledge clustering and explicit knowledge flow, but the wind power industry has a stronger tacit knowledge flow. Further, this study argues that the differences of global knowledge links between China’s wind and solar PV industries may be caused by technology characteristics, market orientation, and policy implementation. This suggests that these industries both have strong connections to global knowledge networks, but they may involve disparate catch-up pathways that concern follower-modes and leader-modes. These findings are important to help us understand how China can follow sustainable development pathways in the light of climate change

The Understanding and Practice of Development in China and the European Union

The role of China in international development rose to prominence from around 2005 as it became clear that a new wave of Chinese actors was engaging in public and private activities in the global South. This has implications for low income countries for which China may offer an alternative model of partnership and development. It further has implications for the policies and practices of international aid and the relationships between China and established donors. Failure to understand and engage constructively with these implications of China's rise could mean missing a crucial opportunity to reverse the fortunes of countries in the global South. This paper is the first of a two-part series on China as a Rising Power and what this means for low income countries and the international development community. This paper emerged out of the ESRC-funded project 'China as the new 'shaper' of global development', ESRC Grant Reference: RES-075-25-0019. The paper explores the different understandings and practices of development in China and the European Union. The paper reflects on differences and similarities between the old and the new powers in relation to international development, aid and the interests, actors, policies and practices involved.ESR

The river runs through it:Naturalising social policy and welfare

This paper reconceptualises social rights through an integration of human welfare and environmental welfare. This is essential if we are making a case for the radical policy changes required to respond to the current environmental crisis, such as maximum living standards and maximum income. As living standards and the demand for social rights increase across the world, this will lead to a concomitant pressure on nature. A maximum living standard based on an ecological footprint is a starting point to think about the need to grant legal rights and resources to nature. Following Polanyi, both humans and the environment are fictitious commodities; we therefore need to rethink our approach to social policy and decommodification to include the environment. This requires approaching social rights from an ecological perspective and breaking the anthropocentric barriers welfare policies create between society and nature. Here, we draw on the work of Michel Serres on the natural contract in order to rethink the content of the social contract and develop an argument in favour of decommodifying nature. Using rivers as legal entities in New Zealand as our example, we illustrate how this theoretical approach could provide the foundations for sustainable eco-social policies in general and maximum living standards in particular

Greening disaster risk management: Issues at the interface of disaster risk management and low carbon development

This paper explores the links between DRM and low carbon development and thereby sheds light on a new and emerging research and development agenda. It elaborates the carbon and greenhouse gas implications of DRM interventions and post-disaster reconstruction practices, drawing on case studies from flood risk reduction, coastal protection and drought risk reduction and considers how post-disaster housing and energy supply reconstruction can be 'greened'. The paper makes suggestions about how the carbon implications of DRM measures could be accounted for in a coherent manner