sectors. These were major concerns in both Chinese government and industry.
Add to this the more recent concern in urban society to reduce pollution, now
openly acknowledged in the Chinese media.
Recent research in China (Dai, 2014) shows that such alignments of interest
matter in both policy formulation and implementation. In China, policy
formulation tends to take place at central level and implementation at local level.
Dai (2014) stresses that the local take-up of centrally designed policies varies
enormously within China. ‘Dynamic’ localities which implement central policies
for solar and wind energy are driven forward by local government and business
joining forces, motivated not by concerns with the climate but by ambitions to
promote local economic development, create jobs, increase tax revenue (local
government) and generate profit (business).
The relevance of alliances is confirmed by the research of Harrison and Kostka
(2012) on the local politics of climate change in China and India:
In both countries the ability to build and sustain coalitions is central to the
effectiveness and sustainability of climate change policy. For various reasons,
state strategies in China and India have focused on the need to bring different
parties with otherwise divergent interests on board to build a coalition in
favour of climate mitigation measures.
(Harrison and Kostka, 2012, p5)
Recent research in India (Chaudhary et al., 2014) shows that such coalitions
have played a critical role also at the national level, but that the combinations of
interests varied between sectors. The solar industry was supported for reasons
of both securing energy and building competitive low- carbon industries. The
‘National Solar Mission’ is the most visible symbol of an industrial policy for this
sector. The most vigorous implementation of this policy occurred in the state of
Gujarat where Chief Minister Narendra Modi (now Prime Minister of India)
spearheaded an alliance of government and business interests determined to accel -
erate economic development. There is no equivalent ‘national wind mission’ in
India, indicating that concerns with building a competitive wind-turbine industry
played less of a role in policies supporting this sector (Chaudhary et al., 2014). Energy
security was the main driver – on the part of government. Climate change
mitigation was only a ‘co-benefit’ (Dubash et al., 2013).
To summarize, the composition of transformational alliances varies, depending
on the specific policy or project or sector in question. Actors in these alliances
might see climate change mitigation as a co-benefit but tend to have other prior -
ities, such as securing energy, building new competitive industries, creating new
jobs in their region, raising public revenue or generating private profit. While not
surprising in itself, it questions the discourse which pitches economic growth against
environmental sustainability, so popular in many parts of the world. Policies which
foster structural transformation promote rather than hinder economic growth.
178 Hubert Schmitz
Add to this the more recent concern in urban society to reduce pollution, now
openly acknowledged in the Chinese media.
Recent research in China (Dai, 2014) shows that such alignments of interest
matter in both policy formulation and implementation. In China, policy
formulation tends to take place at central level and implementation at local level.
Dai (2014) stresses that the local take-up of centrally designed policies varies
enormously within China. ‘Dynamic’ localities which implement central policies
for solar and wind energy are driven forward by local government and business
joining forces, motivated not by concerns with the climate but by ambitions to
promote local economic development, create jobs, increase tax revenue (local
government) and generate profit (business).
The relevance of alliances is confirmed by the research of Harrison and Kostka
(2012) on the local politics of climate change in China and India:
In both countries the ability to build and sustain coalitions is central to the
effectiveness and sustainability of climate change policy. For various reasons,
state strategies in China and India have focused on the need to bring different
parties with otherwise divergent interests on board to build a coalition in
favour of climate mitigation measures.
(Harrison and Kostka, 2012, p5)
Recent research in India (Chaudhary et al., 2014) shows that such coalitions
have played a critical role also at the national level, but that the combinations of
interests varied between sectors. The solar industry was supported for reasons
of both securing energy and building competitive low- carbon industries. The
‘National Solar Mission’ is the most visible symbol of an industrial policy for this
sector. The most vigorous implementation of this policy occurred in the state of
Gujarat where Chief Minister Narendra Modi (now Prime Minister of India)
spearheaded an alliance of government and business interests determined to accel -
erate economic development. There is no equivalent ‘national wind mission’ in
India, indicating that concerns with building a competitive wind-turbine industry
played less of a role in policies supporting this sector (Chaudhary et al., 2014). Energy
security was the main driver – on the part of government. Climate change
mitigation was only a ‘co-benefit’ (Dubash et al., 2013).
To summarize, the composition of transformational alliances varies, depending
on the specific policy or project or sector in question. Actors in these alliances
might see climate change mitigation as a co-benefit but tend to have other prior -
ities, such as securing energy, building new competitive industries, creating new
jobs in their region, raising public revenue or generating private profit. While not
surprising in itself, it questions the discourse which pitches economic growth against
environmental sustainability, so popular in many parts of the world. Policies which
foster structural transformation promote rather than hinder economic growth.
178 Hubert Schmitz