SGAIN Talk and ESG Network
China鈥檚 Green Soft Power and Introduction to Earth System Governance Network
About the Event
Join us for an insightful event hosted by Sustainability Spotlight, featuring a keynote address from guest speaker, , who will discuss "China鈥檚 Green Soft Power," followed by an introduction to the .
Keynote address: China鈥檚 Green Soft Power
Over the past three decades, global environmental governance has undergone fundamental changes due to power transition in world politics, with emerging economies playing increasingly important roles. One of the most remarkable examples is China 鈥� a country that has transformed itself from a major polluter into the world鈥檚 powerhouse of green technologies. The country has also made various multilateral and bilateral efforts to lead environmental cooperation. In light of these changes, some scholars believe that China has gradually become a global environmental leader. However, current research in global governance and environmental politics offers very few in-depth and systematic analyses of this shift鈥攑articularly lacking are studies on how different actors within China perceive and engage with the country鈥檚 changing position as a global environmental leader, and how this role shift influences sustainable transitions in other countries around the world. In this talk, Dr Sun draws on his latest research to introduce the concept of 鈥済reen soft power鈥� and apply it to the case of China to show how environmental action influences the power of nations and actors in today鈥檚 global politics. He will also introduce the newly developed the China Global Environmental Leadership (CGEL) Database created by the SGAIN project, offering an empirical perspective on the evolution and recent trends of China鈥檚 green soft power in the 21st century.
About the speaker
is an associate professor in International Development at the University of Bath, United Kingdom. He studies transnational governance, environmental politics and sustainable development with a focus on emerging economies. Currently, he is the principal investigator of the GBP 1.7 million project on sustainability governance of China鈥檚 global infrastructure investments () funded by the UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship. He is the author of Certifying China published by the MIT Press in 2022 and has published over 30 peer-reviewed articles and chapters in high-impact journals and books including Science, Nature Sustainability, Nature Food, Global Environmental Change, Environmental Politics and Review of International Political Economy. Dr Sun serves as associate editor of Global Environmental Politics and World Development Perspectives. Moreover, he is an adjunct senior research fellow at the Institute for Environment and Sustainability of the National University of Singapore and a member of the Earth System Governance Project鈥檚 Scientific Steering Committee.
Event Details
Date: Thursday 29th May 2025
Time: 11:30 - 15:00
Venue: OC0.01
Agenda:
11:30-13:00
Dr. Yixian Sun: China's Green Soft Power
13:00-14:00
Lunch & Networking
14:00-15:00
Introduction to the Earth System Governance Network and developing ideas for research collaboration