Daphne Ngar-yin Mah

Between market and state: dilemmas of environmental governance in China’s sulphur dioxide emission trading system

Beginning in the 1990s, China has completed two phases of emission trading pilots. In this paper we assess Chinas pilot programme and analyze how it has been constrained by major problems in three areas of governance capacities: state, policy, and administrative capacities. These problems reflect deeper and more profound dilemmas of market transition experienced by the Chinese government in the past three decades. The dilemmas have resulted in the development of a ‘state-led’ pseudomarket, instead of a full and ‘autonomous’ market, for emission trading in China. It is evidently clear that China still faces many challenges in establishing a market for emission trading which require strengthening its governing capacity in order to address effectively the issues of the rule of law, independent regulation, information disclosure, and public accountability.

Collaborative Governance for Technological Innovation: A Comparative Case Study of Wind Energy in Xinjiang, Shanghai, and Guangdong

This paper examines relationships between collaborative governance and technological innovation. Collaborative governance is a key strategy for this form of innovation but remains underresearched. This paper explores how and to what extent collaborative governance can contribute to technological innovation by means of a case study of wind energy in China. Drawing on a comparative analysis of three provinces—Xinjiang, Shanghai, and Guangdong—the paper presents three major findings. Firstly, the three provinces reflect local variations in their models of government–industry–university collaboration. Xinjiang illustrates a hierarchical model, Shanghais model is highly institutionalised, whereas Guangdong has adopted a market model. Secondly, the mechanisms for collaborative governance are conceptualised into three integral elements: resources (such as funds, personnel, and technological knowledge), structures (such as collaborative institutions and learning networks), and processes (such as resource pooling and learning). Thirdly, the Chinese model of collaborative governance for technological innovation shares some important characteristics with Western models but also exhibits some differences: the relatively limited role of public service organisations, a domestic market dominated by state-owned enterprises, the relatively inactive role of industrial associations, and an emergence of policy networks distinguish the Chinese models.

An international review of local governance for climate change: implications for Hong Kong

Cities have increasingly become the focal point for climate change initiatives. However, how cities respond to climate change challenges and through what mechanisms have remained largely unexplored. This paper develops a framework for local governance to examine and explain climate change initiatives in cities. Based on the analysis of 20 climate change initiatives in major cities and a detailed case study of Hong Kong, this paper has two main findings. First, local governments at the city level have an important role to play in climate change policies by embracing some key strategies (such as deliberation and partnership) and values (such as equity and legitimacy) of good governance. Second, by comparing and contrasting the experience in other cities, our case study of Hong Kong provides insights about the barriers that may limit a citys ability to adapt to new forms of governance that would enable it to better respond to climate change. The paper concludes by exploring the potential role of local governance as a model to strengthen climate change initiatives at the city level.

Smart Grids: The Regulatory Challenges

Smart grids present major potential benefits in terms of economic, environmental, and social considerations. The deployment of smart grids however requires not only technological advancement but also the ability to overcome many regulatory barriers. This chapter brings regulator perspectives—an area that is under-explored—into the field of smart grid studies. We examine why regulators should be concerned about smart grid developments, the nature of the regulatory challenges they may face, and what they can do to address these challenges. We have two major findings. Firstly, we demonstrate that smart grids present new challenges to regulators. Regulators are faced with three major challenges: utility disincentives, pricing inefficiencies, and cybersecurity and privacy. Market liberalisation, decoupling, dynamic pricing, and protocols and standards on cybersecurity are the major mechanisms that regulators can deploy to address these issues. Secondly, our international case studies of countries and cities provide an overview of a variety of actual regulatory initiatives in place. This overview shows how economies have pioneered a variety of regulatory approaches that tend to be more participatory to better respond to the more dynamic stakeholder landscape that is emerging.

Barriers to adopting solar photovoltaic systems in Hong Kong

The adoption of solar photovoltaic systems is often constrained by various sociotechnical barriers. In this paper, we identify and differentiate barriers to photovoltaic among three groups of potential adopters in Hong Kong: individuals, businesses, and the public sector. A total of 55 interviews were conducted to collect the data for the study. The results indicate that the most important constraints were technical barriers such as space limitations and low energy output, followed by economic barriers such as high upfront costs and long payback periods. Furthermore, we found that individuals were the group most exposed to market, policy, and regulatory barriers and they had to contend with the highest number of barriers. Our analysis also illustrates that there was a close interrelationship between the barriers. For example, technical barriers, such as space limitations, could be overcome partially by addressing regulatory barriers. Based on the analysis, we formulate a number of policy recommendations. The results of this study could be useful to the government in its attempt to facilitate a sustainable energy transition in Hong Kong.