Role of Green Governance in Achieving Sustainable Urbanization in China

Since economic reforms began in 1978, China's urban population has increased by half a billion. Over the next 20 years, cities will likely add another 300 million people through local population growth, migration and the integration of nearby rural areas. Cities account for the majority of resource use and pollution so achieving greener growth will depend on developing and implementing a more sustainable urbanization model. China's leaders have responded to these challenges with ambitious goals and comprehensive environmental laws and regulations. These have so far not significantly reduced the harm from air, water and soil pollution: in large measure because China's green governance does not match its green ambitions. Drawing on the World Bank's work on green growth and a recent joint urbanization study by the Development Research Center of China's State Council and the World Bank, this paper reviews recent academic research on green governance in urban China and discusses its main implications in the context of emerging global green growth concepts.