22 NOV 2024 (FRI)

 China Development Studies Elite Seminar Series 

Decoding just transitions on the Chinese ground: the case of Chun’an, Zhejiang

Date: 22 NOV 2024 (Friday)

Time: 15:00-16:30 (HKT)

Mode: Via Zoom

Via Zoom: Zoom link will be provided upon successful registration

Registration link: https://hkuems1.hku.hk/hkuems/ec_hdetail.aspx?guest=Y&ueid=97338

Abstract:

The notion of just transition is important and debated in discussions about climate change and low‐carbon shifts. This study aims to refocus on just transition from a spatial perspective. We investigate perceptions in Chun’an, Zhejiang, to redefine just transition beyond Western ideas. Our case offers one key yet under‐explored dimension in the interpretation of justice: spatial scale. First, the green transition of Chun’an can be regarded both as a sacrifice of economy from a local perspective (Chun’an county) and as a valuable social contribution from a broader regional perspective (Hangzhou city area). Second, the multi‐scalar interaction of the transition process shapes the perceptions of justice. It is represented by the growing local tensions between developmentalism and environmentalism. Such a process is aimed at generating a wider scale of well‐being, contributing to a process of/for justice. We argue just transition is about a spatially sensitive process towards (rather than of) justice. In China, realizing transition is the way towards justice, and justice itself is transition in the long run.

Professor Xiaohui HU

Professor, School of Geography, Nanjing Normal University, China

Hu Xiaohui is a professor at the School of Geography, Nanjing Normal University. He obtained his Ph.D. in Economic Geography from Kiel University, Germany, in 2015. His main research interests include evolutionary economic geography, regional economic resilience and geographies of transitions. He has published over 80 articles in international journals, such as Regional Studies, Urban Studies, and Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society. He now has led two national-level research projects, and two international research projects (The British Academy + World Resources Institute), with a particular focus on new green industrial path development and just transitions of peripheral regions in China.