“Oh, I don’t care about that”: Chinese ENGOs and Climate Change Politics - Following not Leading

Given its status as the world’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide, contributing to significant climate change, the internal motivators and drivers of Chinese domestic and international climate policy are of considerable academic interest. This paper investigates the focus of environment movement campaigning on climate change in China by local ENGOs. It results from in-depth interviews conducted in Beijing with local non-government organisations and climate activists. The data shows that local activism on climate lags significantly behind China’s international commitments to climate change, which can be attributed to a number of factors. First, there is insufficient public pressure for climate action in China. Secondly, recent actions by the Chinese government against civil society have increased activist caution around environmental campaigning. Thirdly, China’s commitment to climate action internationally is not motivated by domestic concerns, it is instead motivated by international concerns such as reputation and legitimacy. The result is a local environment movement that is less engaged with climate politics than expected, with little attempt at direct government engagement on the issue and a focus on public awareness activities on climate, where they are evident at all. These findings are of broader interest for scholars of environmental politics and social movements, shedding light on different configurations of the relationship between citizens, civil society and the state in non-democratic states.