The Green Leap Forward 绿跃进

I was recently interviewed by Social Bridges, a relatively new but excellent blog on sustainability and corporate social responsibility.   The interview touched on various topics, including the following question on China (followed by my response):

Q: As your main focus is on China, what’s your take on the sustainability/greener efforts in your country and are you satisfied? International media keeps on criticizing the Chinese efforts such as the Olympics - how do you view all this?

A: China’s green push is a paradox. On the one hand, it has awakened to the imperative for sustainability and has announced all sorts of progressive environmental and energy reforms. On the other hand, its legacy of a highly polluting industrializing economy is of massive scale, and the socio-political pressures to maintain economic growth so as to provide jobs for its vast populous shows no sign of ebbing. It is clear that the Chinese government is well aware of the need to protect its environment, but as various China commentators have observed, there is a significant disconnect between the top-level central government green policy intentions, and the capacity of its various institutions to effectively manage its energy, environmental and water sector. This means that environmental and energy reform must be undertaken simultaneously with administrative and structural reform of its political institutions–no easy task by any measure. I guess I would consider myself an optimist, but a cautious one at that.

Yes, it is true that the international media has not always been kind to China on various cross-cutting issues. But that comes with the territory of being the world’s emerging superpower. China has to take the good with the bad. Hopefully, rather than simply stirring up local indignance, the international criticism can be turned into an opportunity for China to respond positively–with actions, rather than merely defensive rhetoric. China has demonstrated the ability to listen to its international partners–its current policy over the revaluation of its currency is a case in point.

For the rest of the interview, click here.

Tags: government, policy