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This research forms an important part of our continuing work on the political economy and governance of sustainable energy transitions in the Global South.

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Drawing on Distributive Climate Politics theory, the paper traces Pakistan’s energy governance trajectory since the beginning of liberalization of its electricity sector in the early 1990s.

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We are pleased to share a new open-access paper by our Doctoral Researcher, Muhammad Faisal Sharif, and Principal Investigator, Professor Yixian Sun, published in Energy Research & Social Science (ERSS).

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🔔 New article - Carbon lock-in due to policy myopia: The influence of political elites and interest groups on Pakistan’s energy governance www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

sciencedirect.com

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During the visit, Professor Sun also represented the University of Bath in signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Fudan University's SIPRA, providing a foundation for continued collaboration between the two institutions.

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SGAIN researchers also made important active contributions throughout the workshop; Dr Yitong Ye presented the newest research on China's global environmental leadership, and PhD researcher Yuen Gu shared findings on China's international climate finance and its implications.

Discussions explored three interconnected themes shaping the future of climate governance, including recent developments in multilateral climate governance, the increasingly close links between climate change and other issues, and China's evolving role in global climate governance.

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Bringing together around twenty leading experts on climate policy and governance fthe workshop provided a platform for transdisciplinary dialogue on how global climate governance is evolving in response to geopolitical change and the role that China can play in advancing climate action.

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Last week, SGAIN organised a workshop "The Shifting Landscape of Global Climate Governance" in Shanghai. The workshop was co-convened by our PI, Professor @yixiansun.bsky.social Yixian Sun, and our China team lead, Professor Bowen Yu at Fudan University.

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Huge thanks to all of the project team who worked hard on this database: Yitong Ye, Jiuyang Li, Ciara O’Brien, Hanchi Zhao, Ya Xiao, Freya Chant, and our PI @yixiansun.bsky.social as well as our website developer Tom Heaton.

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CGEL Database — China's Global Environmental Leadership

We are also thrilled to share our dedicated website for our database cgel.sgain.org. Here, you can explore our database through interactive visualisation tools and stay updated on our work.

cgel.sgain.org

The most comprehensive database of cross-border environmental governance initiatives led by Chinese state and non-state actors.

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China’s Global Environmental Leadership (CGEL) Database – Version 1.0 - University of Bath Research Data Archive

The full dataset and our codebook (CGEL Version 1.0) are available for download from the University of Bath Data Repository doi.org/10.15125/BAT....

doi.org

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Our new paper highlighting key insights from the CGEL Database in the Earth System Governance Journal, reveals that while central government agencies have largely driven this expansion, a growing number of Chinese non-state actors are developing their own initiatives: doi.org/10.1016/j.es...

doi.org

Redirecting

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Our analysis of 291 initiatives reveals that China has become increasingly active in leading international environmental cooperation, with the geographic scope of these initiatives expanding rapidly.

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CGEL Database — China's Global Environmental Leadership

📊Announcing a new, cutting-edge dataset on China’s global environmental leadership. The first of its kind, China’s Global Environmental Leadership (CGEL) Database systematically collects key information on Chinese actors-led governance initiatives addressing different environmental issues.

cgel.sgain.org

The most comprehensive database of cross-border environmental governance initiatives led by Chinese state and non-state actors.

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SGAIN Project @sgain.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

This Thursday, University of Bath Global Chair (2025-27) and SGAIN Advisory Board member Professor Ben Cashore will deliver a public lecture: 'Climate Policy Thermostats: The Planet's Last Hope?'

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The conference provided an excellent platform to share insights and connect with researchers working on climate action, inclusive development, and sustainable energy transitions.

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Associate Professor at the University of Dhaka and SGAIN collaborator from Bangladesh, Muhammad Badrul Hasan, Ph.D also presented his research on Governance Quality and Sustainable Development Goals in Developing Countries.

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SGAIN Doctoral Researcher Muhammad Faisal Sharif presented his research in the Clean and Affordable Energy session, where he discussed emerging dynamics in energy transitions, governance, and the attainment of SDG 7 in the Global South, with a particular focus on Pakistan.

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SGAIN Project @sgain.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

On 4–6 March 2026, SGAIN researchers had the opportunity to share our work at the Network for Education and Research on Peace and Sustainability Conference in Tokyo. The conference, organized by Hiroshima University, brought together over 300 scholars and practitioners from across the globe.

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The conference, organized by Hiroshima University, brought together over 300 scholars and practitioners from across the globe to discuss sustainability, governance, and global challenges.

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SGAIN Project @sgain.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

Ben met with the Bath SGAIN team members and offered some important advice to our early-career researchers and their projects, using his expertise in how public and private actors collaborate to address complex environmental challenges to suggest future pathways and research opportunities.

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SGAIN Project @sgain.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

Through his leadership in designing and facilitating collaborative, multi-stakeholder policy processes, Professor Cashore has illuminated new pathways for tackling “super wicked” problems—environmental challenges marked by their urgency, complexity, and resistance to conventional remedies.

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SGAIN Project @sgain.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

Last week, University of Bath's Global Chair and SGAIN Advisory Board member Benjamin Cashore visited Bath. Professor of Public Management at NUS and Director of the Institute for Environment & Sustainability, Professor Cashore is a globally-recognised scholar.

SGAIN Project @sgain.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

In this article, authors call on GEP researchers to bring geopolitics more fully back into their analyses to better explain the new dynamics of environmental politics and governance in a changing world.

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SGAIN Project @sgain.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

Over the past decade, three overlapping trends have fundamentally reshaped and now characterize the global geopolitical order: the rise of emerging powers, increasing military conflicts, and growing international trade tensions.

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SGAIN Project @sgain.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

🔔New Article – Global Environmental Politics amid Geopolitical Turbulence We are excited to share our latest article, co-authored by PI Dr Yixian Sun, is now available to read in Global Environmental Politics: direct.mit.edu/glep/article...

direct.mit.edu

Global Environmental Politics amid Geopolitical Turbulence

Abstract. Over the past decade, three overlapping trends have fundamentally reshaped and now characterize the global geopolitical order: the rise of emerging powers, increasing military conflicts, and...

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SGAIN Project @sgain.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

Happy Year of the Horse! As we enter a new lunar year, the SGAIN team sends our warmest wishes to our partners, collaborators, and followers. May this year of the Horse bring you good health, joy, and success! Wishing everyone 马年吉祥，马到成功

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This research trip has significantly expanded our networks in Indonesia, which will allow us to produce more relevant and impactful research in coming years.

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This was followed by three thematic sessions focused respectively on governance for Indonesia’s energy transition, Chinese companies’ engagement, and just transition for local communities.

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The workshop was opened by Dr. Yixian Sun, who gave a keynote speech on China’s shifting role in global climate governance. As lead of SGAIN Indonesia team, Prof. Dr. Nur Rachmat Yuliantoro outlined key findings from the SGAIN project’s research in Indonesia.

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On 3 February, the SGAIN Indonesia team organised a workshop in Jakarta: “Advancing Indonesia-China Partnerships for Clean Energy Transition: Policy, Governance, and Practices”. Over 30 representatives of Indonesian and Chinese governments, businesses, and civil society participated.

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Written by @yixiansun.bsky.social, Freya Chant, Ciara O'Brien, Yitong Ye, Jiuyang Li, Yuen Gu, and Ya Xiao, this report marks the first in our series of our project to examine China's evolving role in global sustainability governance.

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...promoting a just transition in overseas engagement, and establishing robust communication channels with international stakeholders.

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To address these challenges, we recommend policy reforms for Chinese state and non-state actors in four broad areas: strengthening support for multilateral cooperation, enhancing transparency of policies and activities...

Our analysis show that while China has already made, in various ways, nontrivial contributions to sustainability transitions worldwide, several institutional and ideational barriers have prevented related Chinese actors from playing a more active role in supporting transitions in other countries.

Drawing on an original expert survey from our Bath Conference on China and Global Sustainability Transition, and evidence from academic and grey literature, this report examines China’s roles in three critical areas related to sustainability transitions.

researchportal.bath.ac.uk

📰 We are pleased to share that on the last day of 2025, we published our China & Global Sustainability Transition Outlook 2025 The report is open access and available to read here: researchportal.bath.ac.uk/en/publicati...

China and Global Sustainability Transition Outlook 2025: China's emerging leadership in global sustainability governance amid geopolitical turbulence.

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China and Global Sustainability Transition Outlook 2025 | SGAIN Project

Finally, on the last day of 2025, we are excited to share our last output for the year - The China & Global Sustainability Transition Outlook 2025. This starts a new report series of our project to examine China's evolving role in global sustainability governance: sgain.org/china-and-gl...

sgain.org

China's emerging leadership in global sustainability governance amind geopolitical turbulence.

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researchportal.bath.ac.uk

We launched our report on the localisation of solar value chains in Pakistan first at #COP30 in Belem and later in Islamabad. You can access to the full report at researchportal.bath.ac.uk/en/publicati...

From Solar Boom to Green Industrialization: Policy Pathways to Localizing Solar Value Chains in Pakistan

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In June, we hosted a workshop to discuss the manuscript of an upcoming book on China's green soft power. We also hosted all our SGAIN Project team members from the UK, Indonesia, Bangladesh, China, and Pakistan at the University of Bath to discuss ongoing and planned research.

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SGAIN's research on China and Global Sustainability Transition

🤝 In June 2025, we hosted the Bath Conference on China & Global Sustainability Transition, bringing over 60 experts from more than 15 countries . This video captures some beautiful moments from the conference vimeo.com/1134543531

vimeo.com

The Sustainability Governance of China's Global Infrastructure Investments (SGAIN) is a £1.7 million UKRI-funded research project led by Dr Yixian…

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As we look to the new year, we want to use this opportunity to celebrate some of our achivements over the last year: 🌐 Our team has travelled to 1️⃣ 2️⃣ countries around the world to conduct research, present our work, and develop collaboration

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As 2025 draws to a close, we would like to thank all of our team members, partners, collaborators and followers for their hard work, support and engagement with our project!