Economic development in an era of global environmentalism : sustainable development and environmental policy implementation in China

The primary purpose of this dissertation is to explore the opportunities and constraints of implementing environmental policy and sustainable development in China. As the most populous country on earth, China’s development and survival has come to a turning point. Many scholars as well as the Chinese government have realized that there is only one way out of the impending environmental disaster. That is by adopting a policy of sustainable development to protect the already damaged environment. The study is centered by a case study of Yunnan Biomass-to-Electricity (BTE) Program, which is a joint research effort between American and Chinese institutions to implement biomass energy projects in rural areas of Yunnan province, China. By integrating energy production and environmental protection, the BTE Program could serve both the environmental and economic needs of the local regions. Therefore, the Yunnan BTE program can serve as a model of sustainable development. Furthermore, because the Yunnan BTE program was a cooperative research effort involving Chinese and American institutions, it also provides an opportunity to study and assess international joint policy implementation efforts. In this case study, we developed an analytical model that contains key factors, both constraints and opportunities, which may have affected the implementation of the BTE program. We explore the role of environmental policy and relationships among various relevant Chinese and American institutions involved in the BTE program. Through careful examination of these factors, and their roles in the process, we establish which facilitate and inhibit program implementation. The study of Mengpeng BTE project showed that all the factors in the analytical model influenced the outcome of the project implementation. Some played more vital roles while others were just minor players. The study demonstrated that preferential environmental policy and sound institutional setting are essential for the success of environmental program implementation in China. From this study, we have learned that it takes more than advanced technology and funding to implement sustainable development. We need not only good environmental policy, but also effective environmental policy. It was not that China lacked environmental policies to support sustainable development. It was rather that these policies were not thoroughly implemented. This case showed that the Chinese institutional setting posed problems for environmental policy implementation in China