Toward a Green Society The Practice and Impacts of Environmental Governance in Contemporary China

This book focuses on the co-evolution of contemporary China's environmental governance practices and social transformation. It analyzes improvements environmental quality, public concern and behavior, and the resulting transformation in governance models and social development. The book consists of three parts: Part 1 discusses major environmental issues (air, water, and waste pollution), the development of related policies, and the objective foundation for a green society. Part 2 explores changes in public environmental concern and behavior across demographics. Part 3 examines governance transformation and the shift towards a green society, using climate change and air pollution as examples.

Part One: Environmental Issues and Governance Practice.- Chapter 1 Air Pollution and Its Governance in Urban Areas.- Chapter 2 Water Pollution and Its Governance in Urban Areas.- Chapter 3 Municipal Solid Waste and Its Governance in Urban Areas.- Chapter 4 Non-point Source Pollution (NSP)and Its Governance in Rural Areas.- Chapter 5 Water Pollution and Its Governance in Rural Areas.- Chapter 6 Rural Ecological Destruction and Protection.- Part Two Environmental Concern and Behavioral Tendency.- Chapter 7 Urban-Rural Differences in Environmental Concern.- Chapter 8 Age Differences in Environmental Concern.- Chapter 9 Economic Growth and Environmental Concern.- Chapter 10 Urban-Rural Differences in Environmental Behavior.- Chapter 11 Residents’ Smog-related Out-migration Intention (SOI) in Urban Areas.- Chapter 12 Perception of Climate Change and Behavioral Tendency.- Part Three Governance Transformation and the Green Society.- Chapter 13 China’s Policies and Actions for Addressing Climate Change.- Chapter 14 Changes in the Environmental Policy-Making Process.- Chapter 15 Toward Composite Environmental Governance.- Chapter 16 The Factor Model of Public Evaluation of Government’s Environmental Protection.- Chapter 17 Modern Chinese Environmentalism.- Chapter 18 The Rise of the Green Society.

Dayong Hong, PhD in Sociology, is an environmental sociologist in China. Hong was previously a professor at the Research Centre for Sociological Theory and Methodology of Renmin University of China, Vice-President of the Chinese Sociological Association. He has published books such as Ecological Modernization and Civilizational Transformation (2014), Social Base of Environmentally Friendly Society (2012).

Yechao Fan, PhD in Sociology, is an associate professor at the Department of Sociology, School of Ethnology and Sociology, Minzu University of China. Fan is mainly engaged in teaching and research in the fields of environmental sociology and social theory.