China Goes Green

Yifei Li is Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at NYU Shanghai, and Global Network Assistant Professor at NYU.Judith Shapiro is Professor and Director of the Masters in Natural Resources and Sustainable Development at American University.

“A clearly written, comprehensive and timely volume, China Goes Green will help students, researchers, and the general public understand how to think about China’s ’authoritarian environmentalism’ — or more accurately, as Li and Shapiro argue — ‘environmental authoritarianism’ under Xi Jinping. A concise guide to a very important issue.”Emily Yeh, University of Colorado Boulder “China Goes Green brilliantly redefines our understanding of modern Chinese governance, dismantling a simplified portrait and illuminating the force, and the flaws, of the centralized approach that some officials call the ‘era of coercion.’ These insights are vital to understanding not only China’s environmental policy but also its handling of public-health emergencies and other issues of urgent global interest.”  Evan Osnos, author of Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth and Faith in the New China“Even as someone well versed in this material, I learned a great deal from this impressive text. I would absolutely use it with my students.”Matto Mildenberger, University of California, Santa Barbara“Faith in the capacity of western forms of governance to meet the rising challenges of the Anthropocene is waning. Many find in China's brand of authoritarian environmentalism an appealing alternative. But can the appeal of this alternative withstand close scrutiny? Without denying or downplaying China's environmental achievements, Li and Shapiro subject China's environmental record to a systematic assessment. The result is a sobering account of what the authors describe as environmental authoritarianism in contrast to authoritarian environmentalism. An important argument that is particularly timely at this moment.”Oran Young, University of California, Santa Barbara‘Li and Shapiro trenchantly explore environmentalism as an element of China’s deepening and globalizing authoritarianism, while also showing that a measure of citizen involvement, or “supervision by the masses,” is required for such projects to succeed. Through nuanced case studies from urban air quality to reforestation, China Goes Green inspires us to focus on the relationship between sustainability and freedom – an endangered species in our increasingly illiberal world.’Jesse Ribot, American University“China Goes Green: Coercive Environmentalism for a Troubled Planet is a nuanced account of what China has done so far, and what lessons the world can learn from the authoritarian tone of environmentalism in China.”The Earthbound Report“broad and deep, well documented and clear”Asian Review of Books“an important work that recasts the trade-offs of tackling catastrophic climate change.”Journal of Political Ecology“Highly recommended for China scholars, those interested in the impact of China's growing global role, and everyone looking to understand how much coercion is necessary in environmental politics.”Jessica C. Teets, Governance“a deeply perceptive book”Mahesh Rangarajan, The Telegraph India“timely…a deep exploration of the environmental governance system under China’s characteristic authoritarian regime.”International Journal of Asian Studies“[A]n in-depth analysis of the Chinese approach to solving environmental issues.”Europe-Asia Studies"(a) remarkable and long overdue book... its enormous strength is its comprehensive and well-balanced combination of ambitious theorizing and hard empirics."  The China Quarterly

• Introduction: The Rise of Authoritarian Environmentalism Ecological Civilization as Political PhilosophyA Global Call to ActionWhat is State-led Environmentalism?Authoritarianism in Green ClothingTowards Mutually Agreed-upon Coercion1 Asserting “Green” Control: The State and its SubjectsCampaigns and CrackdownsEnvironmental CampaignsJustifications and RisksTarget-settingTargets Gone AwryBehavior ModificationEnvironmentalism at a PriceNotes2 “Green” China Pacifies its BordersOne-size-fits-all PolicymakingAfforestation by MonocultureThe Loess Plateau as an Unscalable SuccessThe Industrialized Forest of Uxin BannerGreen Grabbing: Hydropower as Ecological Civilization and ModernizationGreen Grabbing as a Tool of Government ControlCitizen Resistance: The Nu River and Tiger Leaping GorgeEcological Migration: Sedentarizing Nomads and Building ParksProtected Areas and National ParksPacifying Borderlands in the Name of the Environment3 The State on the “Green” Belt and RoadThe Belt and Road Initiative and the EnvironmentWin-win Green DevelopmentThe Quest for Soft PowerGreen TechnocracyA Morass of Contradictions4 Global China Goes “Green”Mastering the Trade GameBanning Global Waste ImportsWithholding Rare EarthsCurbing the Endangered Species TradeEngineering China’s AtmosphereBlue Skies or BustConstructing “Sky River”: Weather Modification on the Tibetan PlateauOuter Space Environmentalism: The Digital Belt and RoadGeoengineering the Earth’s ClimateMining the MoonThe Sleeping Lion Awakes5 Environmental Authoritarianism on a Troubled PlanetEnvironmental FixAuthoritarian ResilienceTechno-political UnderpinningsTransactional LogicIndispensable Civil SocietyConsultation under State LeadershipReferencesIndex