As the greatest coal-producing and consuming nation in the world, China would seem an unlikely haven for wind power. Yet the country now boasts a world-class industry that promises to make low-carbon technology more affordable and available to all. Conducting an empirical study of China's remarkable transition and the possibility of replicating their model elsewhere, Joanna I. Lewis adds greater depth to a theoretical understanding of China's technological innovation systems and its current and future role in a globalized economy. Lewis focuses on China's specific methods of international technology transfer, its forms of international cooperation and competition, and its implementation of effective policies promoting the development of a home-grown industry. Just a decade ago, China maintained only a handful of operating wind turbines-all imported from Europe and the United States. Today, the country is the largest wind power market in the world, with turbines made almost exclusively in its own factories. Following this shift reveals how China's political leaders have responded to domestic energy challenges and how they may confront encroaching climate change. The nation's escalation of its wind power use also demonstrates China's ability to leapfrog to cleaner energy technologies-an option equally viable for other developing countries hoping to bypass gradual industrialization and the "technological lock-in" of hydrocarbon-intensive energy infrastructure. Though setbacks are possible, China could one day come to dominate global wind turbine sales, becoming a hub of technological innovation and a major instigator of low-carbon economic change.

Conducting an empirical study of China's remarkable transition to wind power and the possibility of replicating its model elsewhere, Joanna I. Lewis adds greater depth to a theoretical understanding of China's technological innovation systems and its current and future role in a globalized economy. Lewis focuses on China's specific methods of international technology transfer, its forms of international cooperation and competition, and its implementation of effective policies promoting the development of a home-grown industry. China could one day come to dominate global wind turbine sales, becoming a hub of technological innovation and major proponent of low-carbon economic change.

About the Author
Joanna I. Lewis is an associate professor of science, technology, and international affairs at Georgetown University's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. Her research focuses on energy and environmental issues in China, including renewable energy industry development and climate change policy. She has worked for numerous governmental, nongovernmental, and international organizations and is a lead author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Fifth Assessment Report.

Reviews
Because there is no more important issue to future generations than climate change and no more important country in the effort to control greenhouse gas emissions than China, Joanna Lewis's book is particularly timely and welcome. Thoroughly researched and well-written, this informative volume goes a long way toward helping us understand the critical role China plays in both the causes for and solutions to the global climate change challenge. -- Orville Schell, director, Center on U.S.-China Relations, Asia Society Green Innovation in China is a compelling exploration of how China is transforming itself into a clean energy powerhouse. By taking us deep into the competitive world of wind power-from research and development to the cutthroat global marketplace-Joanna Lewis provides fascinating insights into China's broader clean tech innovation strategy. This is a book that should be on the desk or nightstand of anyone who wants to understand where China's leaders are taking their country and how they plan to get there. -- Elizabeth Economy, C. V. Starr Senior Fellow and director of Asia studies, Council on Foreign Relations This book provides an excellent overview of China's green innovation system, relating China's energy technology innovations to the country's domestic policy interventions and international collaborations. China's green innovation process is very complicated. Without a doubt, this book will help readers within and outside of China better grasp the context and nature of the issue. The text also describes well the lessons other developing countries can draw from China's green innovation exercise. -- Zhang Xiliang, professor and executive director, Institute of Energy, Environment, and Economy, Tsinghua University Lewis's work is a lucid look at the development of a key green-tech sector, and the larger lessons it holds for China's innovative capacity. Asian Review of Books Essential reading for everyone interested in the Chinese wind energy industry, providing a compelling and well-researched overview, including the industry's history and prospects for its future. -- Johan Nordensvard International Affairs As important as it is timely... Required reading for anyone interested in China's energy or environmental politics. -- Phillip Stalley The China Quarterly In this timely volume, Joanna Lewis integrates insights and research from over a decade of work relating to the rise of China's wind market, the largest in the world. -- Edward A. Cunningham Review of Policy Research Informative... Green Innovation in China is timely reading for anyone interested in the evolution of the wind energy industry in China. China Review International [A] carefully researched, painstakingly referenced, and articulate account. Journal of Chinese Political Science An accurate and invaluable reference for scholars of development and innovation studies. Pacific Affairs


Awards
Winner of Harold & Margaret Sprout Award 2014.



Book Information
ISBN 9780231153317
Author Joanna I Lewis
Format Paperback
Page Count 304
Imprint Columbia University Press
Publisher Columbia University Press