China Green Development Lab launched at LSE by the Grantham Research Institute and Global School of Sustainability

The Grantham Research Institute and Global School of Sustainability (GSoS) are taking their work on China to the next stage with the launch of the China Green Development Lab.

The Lab, led by Dr Mathias Larsen and chaired by Professor Nicholas Stern, will conduct policy-relevant research into China’s green transition and the country’s role in the transition around the world. Working with partners including government bodies, think tanks, universities, companies and financial institutions, it will support Chinese officials in designing policies to green the country’s growth and policymakers in other countries wishing to better understand China’s role in their own sustainable transitions and learn from China’s experience. The Lab will publish academic articles and policy reports as a rigorous research foundation for engagements with policymakers.

Dr Larsen describes the following four research areas as priorities for the Lab:

1. Greening growth in China: designing a comprehensive policy roadmap for greening growth, applying central ideas from Nicholas Stern on the green transition as a growth opportunity. As both the world’s largest emitter and the leader in green technologies, China will do more than any other country to shape the global climate trajectory over the coming decade. Modelling shows China could cut emissions faster than its official targets while sustaining the growth needed to meet its development goals, consistent with its stated aim to ‘strive’ to exceed the target in its nationally determined contribution (NDC).
   
2. China’s role in advancing the climate agenda in international fora: detailing the role China could take in advancing the climate agenda across global platforms. With the US pulling back from climate action in these fora, China, which has raised its ambitions and leads core green industries, is well placed to help sustain global momentum. Doing so also serves China’s own interests, from showcasing its policy successes to supporting the global expansion of its green industries.
   
3. China’s outward-facing green financing: providing groundbreaking data and extensive analysis of the impacts of and possibilities for Chinese financing, supporting country partnerships to develop green industries. Overseas investments by Chinese clean tech manufacturers have surged to nearly US$250 billion and are reshaping global clean technology supply chains. These flows can speed up the global spread of clean technologies and open an industrial policy window for host countries, but realising those benefits requires we significantly improve our understanding of this potential.
   
4. Global lessons from China’s green policies: distilling China’s experience into usable policy lessons for other countries, especially within fiscal and monetary policy. China’s state-led approach, spanning central banking, fiscal policy, government guidance funds, state-owned companies and financial institutions, has made it the leader in  green industries and clean technology deployment. Yet very little research has examined how these policies could inform policymakers elsewhere.

In addressing these priorities, the Lab will work across the five themes of the Global School of Sustainability.

Visit the China Green Development Lab page for further information.