Abstract:
Technological Environmental Innovation (TEI) can help improve environmental efficiencies of existing processes or revolutionalize the way things are done in a less polluting way. Unfortunately, the availability of technology alone could not drive the society towards sustainability.It is recognized that concomitant changes at the landscape, regime, and niche levels are indispensible. To realize such systemic change (changes at all levels), the concept of Transition Management (TM) has been proposed by some scholars and adopted in the Dutch policy context with some success. TM, as a policy tool to realize transitions to sustainability, emphasizes mobilization of capabilities of various stakeholders to solve complex sustainability issues, including climate change and greenhouse gas issues. Stakeholder engagement (SE) thus becomes critical in the TM process. This paper reviews literature on SE in relation to TM and TEI policy-making process, paying special attention to low-carbon/cleaner transport transitions and relevant TEI policy-making in Hong Kong. Based on two attempts of cleaner transport transitions in Hong Kong focussing on the hydrogen and electric vehicles, this paper identifies the missing link that has to be filled in to successfully mobilize the problem-solving capabilities of stakeholders for effecting changes at different levels of TM and bringing Hong Kong towards greater sustainability.

Key words: Stakeholder Engagement, Transition Management, Evolutionary policy approach, Sustainability, Governance

This paper is work-in-progress and the author(s) welcome constructive feedback The paper should not to be quoted without the permission of the author(s). Correspondence to: stephen.t@hku.hk; jacquelinelam@hku.hk

Abstract:
This paper examines the motivations, processes and outcomes of the development of smart grids in South Korea through the perspectives of governance and innovation systems. Drawing on desktop research and semi-structured interviews, this paper has two major findings. First, the development of smart grids in Korea has been shaped by various factors including macroeconomic policy, the role of the government, and experimentation. The complex interactions between these factors at the landscape, regime and niche levels has impacted on the development of smart grids. Second, while Korea’s government-led approach has its strengths in driving change, it has also exposed weaknesses in the country’s ability to mobilise the private sector and consumer participation. While government leadership is a key condition for smart grid development, major obstacles including partial electricity market reform and public distrust also exist. A systemic perspective is needed for policy in order to accommodate the changes required for smart grid development. Regulatory reforms, particularly price-setting mechanisms, and consumer engagement are priority areas for policy change.

Key words: smart grid, Korea, socio-technical systems

This paper is work-in-progress and the authors welcome constructive feedback. The paper should not be quoted without the permission of the authors. Corresponding author: Daphne Mah, Tel: (852) 2219 4901; Fax: (852) 2857 2521; daphnema@hku.hk

Abstract:
This paper examines the role played by government-enterprise-university collaboration in enhancing China’s R&D capacity with a particular reference to wind energy. Drawing on a comparative study of three provinces, Xinjiang, Shanghai and Guangdong, this paper presents two major findings. First, the three provinces, though embedded in the same national technological innovation system, reveal a local diversity in their models of government-industry-university collaboration. Xinjiang illustrates a hierarchical model while Shanghai’s model is a highly institutionalised one. Guangdong has adopted a market model. Our second finding is that while these different collaborative models have enhanced the R&D capacity for wind energy, they exposed two major limitations: quality assurance and the lack of market competition. One reason for these limitations appears to be under-investment of public resources in the wind power industry. Enterprises have replaced the government as the key driver for R&D. We conclude that there is a need to better define the comparative strengths of central government and provinces, and between the government, enterprises and universities in China’s technological innovation systems, and to develop a better designation of their respective tasks and responsibilities.

Abstract:
The concept of Transition Management has been adopted in the Dutch policy-making context and some other Western societies to solve persistent and structural sustainability problems over the last decade or so. The concept was applied to a number of sectors to bring systemic changes. This paper reviews the existing literature on Technology Management and draw insights from both theoretical and practical perspectives. The concept of transition management is first explained and its difference with existing policy processes is highlighted. By looking at a number of overseas studies in which the transition management is applied, this paper focuses on the role played by stakeholder engagement in the transition process and the use of transition management as a governance model for evolutionary policy approach. The pros and cons of this approach are also discussed.

Key words: Transition management, Stakeholder engagement, Low-carbon economy, Evolutionary policy approach, Sustainability, Governance

Abstract:
This chapter describes the process of transitioning to a low-carbon hydrogen economy in the United States and the role of transition management (TM) in this process. Focussing on the transition process for hydrogen-based energy and transport systems in the United States, especially California, this study outlines the key characteristics of TM that have been employed in managing the transition. Several characteristics of TM have been noted in the United States’ hydrogen transition, including: (a) the complementarity of the long-term vision with incremental targets, (b) the integration of top-down and bottom-up planning, (c) system innovations and gradualism, (d) multi-level approaches and interconnectedness, and (e) reflexivity by learning and experimenting. These characteristics are instrumental in bringing about the development and initial commercialization of HFCVs and related energy infrastructure in the United States.

Key words: Transition Management, Low-carbon, Hydrogen Economy, the United States, California, Energy, Transport, Fuel Cell Vehicles, California Fuel Cell Partnership

Abstract:
This paper examines the evolution of the Shanghai Green Electricity Scheme - the first green electricity market in China - since it was introduced in 2005. This Scheme represents an institutional innovation to pursue sustainability objectives through the restructuring of energy markets. We also argue that the use of this market-based instrument (MBI) is linked with wider issues associated with policy and governance. The critical factors that appear to determine Shanghai's capacity for institutional innovation include local contextual conditions and the central-local dynamics while a major barrier is institutional inertia. As the green electricity market in Shanghai primarily involves wind energy, the analysis gives special attention to this particular form of renewable energy.

Key words: green electricity market, Shanghai, wind energy

Our analysis consists two main interrelated parts, a review of a selection of 16 climate change initiatives in a number of cities in developed economies, and a detailed case study of Hong Kong’s initiatives on climate change. This paper has two major findings. First, our review provides some evidence that the elements of good governance are associated with effective climate change initiatives. Values of good governance including equity, legitimacy, efficiency, trust, coherence and accountability, and the use of strategies, particularly participation, deliberation, partnership and policy integration, are identified as the key.

Second, by drawing comparison between the experience in other global cities and Hong Kong, our case study of Hong Kong provides insights on the barriers that could limit a city’s ability to respond to climate change challenges. The barriers include the central-local tension, the incompatibility of a traditional policy, a lack of institutional capacity and a lack of empowering and engaging capacity to mobilise civil society. This paper concludes by exploring potential role of local governance as a model to strengthen climate change initiatives at the city level.

Key words: local governance, city climate initiatives, global cities, Hong Kong, institutional capacity

Note:  A slightly modified paper was submitted to Green Finance and Sustainability: Environmentally Aware Business Models and Technologies, IGI Global. The paper should not be quoted without the permission of the authors. Comments are most welcome. Correspondence to "Jacqueline Lam" jacquelinelam@hku.hk

Paper presented at the International Workshop: "Institutional Change and Environmental Governance:
Comparing the Dynamics of Central-Local Relations in Environmental Policy Making"
Tsinghua University, School of Public Policy and Management
Beijing, December 11-12,  2009

In this paper, we assess the role of policy learning in improving the efficacy of energy policies by examining the evolution of the pricing policies for wind energy in China since 1994 when China’s first pricing policy for wind was introduced. A distinctive feature of the wind pricing policies in China was the prolonged debate regarding the relative merits of two competing policies – the tendering policy (a policy of price liberalization) and the fixed-price policy (a policy of price regulation). It is in this Chinese context that this paper contrasts the developments of three distinctive phases of pricing policies for wind energy between 1994 and 2009, and compares the local policy responses in three Chinese provinces, Guangdong, Shanghai and Xinjiang.

This paper adopts a case-study approach. The analysis of this paper focuses on the policy changes at the national level, including the move away from the tendering policy to a fixed-price policy in 2009, and the diversity of local policy responses that ranged from the introduction of a local fixed-price policy in Guangdong to the local implementation of the tendering model in Shanghai and the introduction of a de facto fixed-price policy in Xinjiang.

Our findings suggest that technical and conceptual forms of policy learning have taken place in China in relation to the policies for wind energy, but the progression towards a high-order of policy learning, social learning, was severely constrained under the established fabric of central-local relations. This paper shows that policy learning improved policy coherence. Another benefit of policy learning is a better understanding of the unintended policy outcomes and the underlying incentive structures among policy stakeholders. The progression of policy learning was achieved through a number of enablers, including knowledge creation, institutions for knowledge accumulation and information disclosure, and the emergence of an issue network. However, overcentralisation, the inertia against institutional changes and the failure to recognize the need for a more deliberative decision-making process, which all emerge from the current central-local tensions in China’s governance system, were identified as the key barriers to the policy learning process.

With its emphasis on a multi-actor, bottom-up approach, collaborative governance has become one of the key public policy strategies adopted in both developed and developing countries. This paper examines whether collaborative governance can help to improve WRA in China, and if so, through what mechanisms.

The paper proceeds by comparing collaborative initiatives involving WRA in two Chinese provinces, Xinjiang and Guangdong. It suggests that while the central government has an important role to play, there are many opportunities for locally-based collaborative initiatives to serve as an alternative, complementary approach to facilitate WRA. There are important contextual elements such as local resources (including leadership and local knowledge), and governance structures (such as social ties) that can facilitate such initiatives. The paper concludes that a broader perspective that places more emphasis beyond the centre in capacity building for WRA is required to enhance the prospects for a transition to a more sustainable energy system in China.

Keywords: China, wind energy, wind resource assessment, sustainable energy, collaboration, governance