China’s Coal Methane

Actors, Structures, Strategies and their Global Impacts

The need for China to alleviate its energy shortage, reduce its dependence on foreign sources and mitigate its climate impact is driving a dire quest for alternative fuels. Coal Mine Methane (CMM), in this context, holds significant potential. China is indeed responsible for more than 40% of the world's total un-captured CMM emissions – which act as a greenhouse gas 21 times more potent than CO2, and whose role in global warming is often underestimated, especially in short- and medium-term climate strategies.

Current research on the Chinese CMM industry has largely focused on its techno-economic aspects, with little if any politico-institutional analyses.

Our work with Ke Chen takes a "micro” and “bottom-up" approach in order to shed light on the political tactics needed for policy change to take place. Three provinces were selected as case studies – so as to capture the rich variation in the local implementation environment, but also to uncover the key industrial processes involved in CMM development and utilization: 1) CMM exploration in Shanxi; 2) CMM transmission and delivery across Shanxi and Henan; 3) and CMM utilization in Guizhou, respectively.

Our conclusions highlight the role of “policy entrepreneurs” who often play a critical role in bridging the institutional, infrastructural, technological and financial divides. They resort to an arsenal of strategies, ranging from coalition building, to the manipulation of decision-making forums, to the strategic framing of issues and opportunities. Such actors are crucial to policy change and may act as useful allies and entry points for international donors attempting to help China move forward.