The path towards low-carbon governance for China

Abstract

The paper reviews the current situation of low-carbon development in China from the strategic, methodological and operational perspectives. The strategic perspective, including the legal system, white papers, national five-year plans, medium-term/long-term development plans and the key strategic decisions of the central government, show strong will of the government at the higher level in adopting low-carbon governance in the future. From the methodological perspective, the surveys on the national standards, industry regulations, education and taxation reveal weaknesses in policy enforcement. Due to the methodological shortcomings, the operational level of low-carbon governance in practice lacks effectiveness and strong enforcement. The energy efficiency of the industry is still low in comparison to developed countries. Therefore recommendations for the development of effective low-carbon governance for the Chinese government are given in order to promote the low-carbon development in practice.