Thesis
Assessing the clean development mechanism in rural China: can ecological modernization function in an authoritarian context?
Washington State University
Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
2013
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/101067
Abstract
Although, China's central government has adopted a number of ecologically progressive environmental policies from pioneering European countries, its poor regulatory enforcement has resulted in a weak delivery of environmental reform through a command and control policy approach. Both Chinese national energy policy and the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol promote animal waste to biogas technology on concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) in rural China. These projects provide an opportunity to study ecological modernization (Häjer, 1995; Dryzek, 2005; Milanez and Buhrs, 2007) in a nondemocratic context, specifically, fragmented authoritarianism (Lieberthal and Lampton, 1992; Lieberthal, 2004; Saich, 2001). This study employed an exploratory case study approach to examine whether or not ecological modernization can function under the conditions of fragmented authoritarianism. Data was collected from site visits at three large-scale CDM biogas projects at three CAFOs (Shandong, rural Beijing, and Inner-Mongolia), interviews with biogas industry experts, as well as secondary data sources. The findings indicate that the CDM has had a positive impact on technology transfer, but overall the CDM (EM approach) to large-scale biogas production, is dysfunctional and inappropriate for China's unique Authoritarian system.
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Details
- Title
- Assessing the clean development mechanism in rural China
- Creators
- Heather C. Pierce
- Contributors
- Paul Thiers (Degree Supervisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Politics, Philosophy and Public Affairs, School of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University; [Pullman, Washington] :
- Identifiers
- 99900525035401842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis