The Nexus between Authoritarian and Environmental Regionalism: An Analysis of China’s Driving Role in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article explores the growing environmental activism of nondemocratic regional organizations (NDROs) by investigating the case of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), addressing the following questions: What explains the emergence of environmental regionalism in the SCO? What are its characteristics and effects? We show that China has acted as the driver of environmental regionalism in the SCO —whose members rank among the world’s top CO2 emitters— providing positive incentives for the establishment of regional environmental institutions and fostering member states’ green energy transition through the top-down deployment of Chinese financial institutions and construction companies. In so doing, China has sought to consolidate its regional leadership in Eurasia, while promoting its economic statecraft and its bid for global environmental leadership.