Implementing a Low-Carbon Future - Climate Leadership in Chinese Cities

In an era of intensified geopolitics and of national-level political gridlock, subnational governments can potentially play an essential role in combating global climate change. Can subnational governments introduce and sustain climate policy actions through changes in political leadership? Why are some local areas doing better than others in delivering on their climate goals?

List of contents

• 1 Introduction


• 2 Subnational Engagement in China's Low-Carbon Energy Transitions


• 3 A Leadership Approach to Low-Carbon Policy Implementation


• 4 Substantive Engagement: Shenzhen


• 5 Performative Engagement: Nanchang


• 6 Sporadic Engagement: Xiamen


• 7 Symbolic Engagement: Zhenjiang


• 8 The Role of Subnational Climate Leadership in Transforming Climate Governance

About the author

Weila Gong is a Climate Policy Fellow at UC Berkeley's Law School. She received her Ph.D. in Political Science from the Technical University of Munich's Bavaria School of Public Policy and completed postdocs at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Affairs and Harvard Kennedy School's Environment and Natural Resources Program.

Product details

• Authors: Weila Gong
• Publisher: Oxford Academic
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 31.10.2025
• EAN: 9780197757420
• ISBN: 978-0-19-775742-0
• Series: Studies in Comparative Energy and Environmental Politics
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; Nature / Environmental Conservation & Protection, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Geopolitics, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Public Policy / Environmental Policy, Geopolitics, Environmental policy & protocols, Environmental policy and protocols