The political economy of coal: The case of China

Abstract

China, the world’s largest producer and consumer of coal, has adopted increasingly ambitious climate targets. At the same time, the electric power sector and other major coal-consuming industries in China face ongoing issues with overcapacity. These key contextual factors shape the political economy of China’s coal sector, which this chapter explores in a systematic framework. By synthesizing the literature and key expert interviews, we identify the main political and societal actors that play a role in China’s energy policy related to coal and also identify several categories of objectives for these actor groups. Overall, we surmise that despite high-level climate commitments, China’s coal industry has been and will be slow to transform due to conflicting objectives between national and provincial level government approaches to managing coal, as well as consolidation of political and economic power in coal-related state-owned enterprises.