Environmental governance: the emerging economic dimension

Abstract

Much has been made of the environmental dark side of China's economic boom. Public health challenges, large-scale migration and diminishing economic opportunities are all costs incurred by China from the country's failure to integrate environmental protection and economic development successfully. Now China's leaders are attempting to use the country's transition to a market economy and integration into the global economy to help protect the environment, advancing policies such as green gross domestic product, tradable permits, environmental leadership by multinationals and national environmental model cities. The success of these policies, however, rests on a broader and more fundamental set of institutional reforms that would promote transparency, rule of law and official accountability, and thus remains in question.