PODCAST · society
Environment China
by Beijing Energy Network
Environment China is a bilingual podcast from the Beijing Energy Network. The show features conversations with advocates, entrepreneurs, and experts working in the environmental field in China.
Episodes
-
China storage and renewables: the magic recipe? - with Biqing Yang, Ember
China is the world's leading player in the energy storage field. Not only does China manufacture lots of EVs and EV batteries, but in 2025 it deployed over 60 GW of new battery energy storage on the grid, way more than any other country. The 15th Five-Year Plan sets a target of having 300 GW on…
more -
The Role of Local Leaders in China's Low-Carbon Transition - with Weila Gong
Today's episode turns to the topic of cities, and specifically the role of local officials and local bureaucracy in China's low-carbon transition. Local officials have tended to prioritize economic goals above all, even as the central government signals the importance of environmental and...
-
Mapping China's Overseas Financing - with Yunnan Chen and Teal Emery
In this episode we continue our series on China's overseas investment trends. In the first episode, we talked with Christoph Nedopil about Chinese investment in the Belt-and Road Initiative (BRI) countries, how both green and dirty investments surged in 2025, and how big deals are back, as…
more -
China's Green Leap Outward - with Mathias Larsen
Today, we're continuing our series on China's external investments in the energy field, focusing in particular on China's outbound investments in clean energy manufacturing. Our guest today is Mathias Larsen. Mathias is Senior Policy Fellow at LSE's Grantham Research Institute for Climate Change…
more -
China's Surging BRI Investments - with Christoph Nedopil-Wang
In today's episode, we take a deep dive into the latest stats on China's surging investments in the Belt-and-Road Initiative countries. Energy investment is up, but we learn that this was both the 'greenest and dirtiest' year for BRI investments ever. Even as China's oil demand stagnates, China's...
-
China's New NDC - Where do we go from here? - with Kate Logan, ASPI
China recently released its official NDC, or Nationally Determined Contribution document, laying out a commitment to reduce carbon emissions 'from peak' by 7-10% by 2035. The document was widely seen as disappointing. Now that the NDC and the initial reactions are out, it's time to take a step…
more -
A Conversation with Our Podcast Host, Anders Hove - hosted by Calvin Quek
In this special episode of the podcast, Calvin Quek interviews the BEN podcast's longtime host, Anders Hove. Topics covered include how Anders came to China, his formative experiences working in China at the China Greentech Initiative, and how he got involved in the podcast. He even gives us his...
-
A Conversation with Our Podcast Host, Anders Hove - hosted by Calvin Quek
In this special episode of the podcast, Calvin Quek interviews the BEN podcast's longtime host, Anders Hove. Topics covered include how Anders came to China, his formative experiences working in China at the China Greentech Initiative, and how he got involved in the podcast. He even gives us his...
-
Green finance: what can other countries learn from China? - with Calvin Quek
Green finance has been a hot topic for several years, and in some respects China is an overall leader in green finance -- at least in terms of the overall volume of green bonds and green loans. More green finance products are coming out at a steady stream. So what does all this mean for China's...
-
Young Professionals in Sustainability: Jialu Zuo (in Chinese)
In the latest episode of Environment China's podcast, we speak to Jialu Zuo. Jialu is a sustainability specialist at China National Aviation Fuel Group (CNAF), focusing on Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and international engagement. She holds dual Master's degrees in Public Policy for the United...
-
China's Climate Path Amid Trade Tensions and Global Expectations
In today's episode of Environment China, we're doing something a little bit different, cross-posting a recording of a panel hosted by the Asia Society Policy Institute's China Climate Hub. This panel discussion explores China's latest emission trends, clean energy deployment, relationship with…
more -
China Energy Transformation Outlook - Kaare Sandholt
In this episode of Environment China, we are talking about China's long-term pathway to carbon neutrality and, in particular, about the recent publication of the China Energy Transformation Outlook, or CETO, which provides two scenarios of China's clean energy transition. We talk to Kaare…
more -
Can China Reduce Emissions by 30% by 2035? - with Belinda Schäpe of CREA
According to a recent report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), by sustaining its current expansion rate of renewable energy, China could cut 30% of power sector emissions & increase non-fossil energy share to over 40%. This would require renewable capacity of 5,000 GW by...
-
(Repost for missing audio) Comparing offshore wind in China and Norway - with Erlend Ek
Dear listeners, we hope you missed us during the long summer break! Now, we're back, and hope you'll join us again for another in-depth episode dealing with a rapidly expanding element of China's energy transition: offshore wind. Today, we're talking about China's offshore wind sector and how it...
-
Young Professionals in Sustainability - Maggie Yao (in Chinese)
In the latest episode of Environment China's podcast, we speak to Maggie Yao. Maggie is a Senior Consultant at CCaSS EY Netherlands, primarily focusing on EU environmental policy, ESG due diligence, ESG strategy, and CSRD implementation. Prior to EY, she worked as an Associate at RMI China, where...
-
Young Professionals in Sustainability - UB Qiu (in Chinese)
In the latest episode of Environment China's podcast series on Young Professionals in Sustainability, we speak to UB Qiu. UB is a sustainability professional with diverse, international, cross-sector experiences, including in ESG consulting, in-house corporate sustainability, partnership...
-
Young Professionals in Sustainability: Ruixin Li (in Chinese)
In the latest episode of Environment China's podcast, we speak to Ruixin Li as part of our Young Professionals in Sustainability series. Ruixin currently works as the lead climate specialist at ICF International Consulting (Beijing). He has eight years of experience working on climate change…
more -
Energy and AI: with Anders Hove of BEN and OIES
Today, we have a special cross-over episode with the podcast called Preparing for AI, which is hosted by Matt Cartwright and Jimmy Rhodes. The guest for this episode is Anders Hove, long-time host of the Environment China podcast, and Beijing-based Matt Cartwright interviews him about the impact…
more -
Young Professionals in Sustainability - Zhinan Chen, RMI (in Chinese)
In the latest episode of Environment China's podcast, we speak to Zhinan Chen as part of our Young Professionals in Sustainability series. Zhinan is a senior associate with Rocky Mountain Institute's India Program, based in Oakland, California, United States. She collaborates with national and...
-
Corporate climate disclosure in China - with Erica Downs, Ned Downie, and Yushan Lou
Today's episode looks at the complex topic of corporate climate disclosures. Our guests today are Erica Downs, Ned Downie, and Lou Yushan. They are the authors of a recent report, published by the Columbia Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP), entitled "China's Climate Disclosure Regime: How...
-
Micromobility and sustainability: A day in the life of a bike-sharing scholar - with Wen Yi [in Chinese]
In the latest episode of Environment China's podcast, we speak to Wen Yi as part of our Young Professionals in Sustainability series. Wen Yi is a doctoral graduate in Transportation Engineering from the University of Tennessee in the United States and a master's degree in statistics. He…
more -
Emergency Podcast! Sunnylands Declaration and COP28 - with Li Shuo
This is an emergency podcast about the Sunnylands Statement on Enhancing Cooperation to Address the Climate Crisis, which was released just a day ago. Top US and China climate negotiators Xie Zhenhua and John Kerry have held several days of talks at the Sunnylands estate near Palm Springs in...
-
Young Professionals in Sustainability - with Qiwen Cui of Dialogue Earth [in Chinese]
In the latest episode of Environment China's Young Professionals in Sustainability Series, we talk with Qiwen Cui, the China editor at China Dialogue, which in 2024 will launch its new flagship website called Dialogue Earth. Qiwen has worked in various media outlets covering climate action,...
-
Coal is back – with Sam Clissold of Carbon Tracker
Coal in China is seeing a multi-year resurgence after years in which the government seemed ready to dial back and ultimately halt coal power construction. Indeed, just months after the 2020 announcement by Xi Jinping on carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, in early 2021 a Central Environmental...
-
"Greener than Ever"? The BRI turns 10! - with Christoph Nedopil-Wang
The Belt-and-Road Initiative (BRI) has reached the ripe old age of 10 this month. Those 10 years have seen a lot of change, including on topics like the relative focus on clean energy versus fossil fuels and the interest in and incentives for applying ESG criteria to BRI investments. Today we are...
-
Marine plastics with Liu Xiao (Women in Sustainability) [Chinese]
In this episode of our Women in Sustainability series, we are speaking again with Dr Liu Xiao about marine waste and the broader topic of waste and recycling in general. We talk with Dr Liu about a typical day at work on her projects at GIZ. Dr Liu is Project Manager at GIZ of the Rethinking...
-
The evolution of China's climate diplomacy – with Taylah Bland
In this episode of our Women in Sustainability series, we are talking about the evolution and underpinnings of China's climate diplomacy. Our guest is Taylah Bland, Schwarzman Fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis. She specializes in China's domestic climate...
-
Do China's EVs really reduce emissions and improve air quality? - with Zhang Shaojun
Today's episode looks at the topic of electric vehicles and their impact on both carbon emissions and urban air quality. China has the world's largest market for electric vehicles, and it is the largest maker of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles manufactured worldwide. Hence, the...
-
Sustainable forestry and the role of China – with Beibei Yin
Today's podcast looks at the topic of sustainable forestry and the role of China, particularly at the role of Chinese banks. Our guest is Beibei Yin, who researches the intersection of China's policies on forestry practices abroad and policies on green finance. Two years ago she founded her own...
-
Breaking: Analysis of China's August Green Certificate Policy - with Anders Hove
Last week, China came out with a dramatic new policy on green certificates, radically reforming what had been a sleepy aspect of the clean energy transition in China. We don't usually do breaking news here on Environment China, but it happens that our co-producer, Anders Hove, has just published…
more -
Young Professionals in Sustainability - with Minjie Lu, S&P Global [Chinese]
In this latest installment in our Young Professionals in Sustainability series, we talk with Minjie LU, Energy Advisory Consultant at S&P Global Commodity Insights consulting group. He has six years of experience in the energy industry. His technical expertise includes oil and gas field...
-
Does China's carbon neutrality need a paradigm shift or just steady progress? - with Chunping Xie of the Grantham Institute
In this episode of our Women in Sustainability series, we're talking with the Grantham Institute's Chunping Xie, looking at the topic of China's carbon neutrality from a wider economic perspective. Specifically, we discuss a paper published earlier this year by the Grantham Institute entitled:...
-
[Chinese episode] Carbon circles and climate finance - Women in Sustainability Series with with Yuan Lin of AIIB
In this latest installment of our Women in Sustainability series, we talk with Yuan LIN, Senior Specialist in Institutional Carbon Management at Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). She works closely with climate initiatives toward the Bank's green mission as embraced in AIIB's corporate...
-
Tackling China's Emissions of HFCs - with Prof Hu Jianxin
Today we will be talking about China's efforts to phase out hydrofluorocarbons (HFCS), a class of refrigerant with huge impacts on the climate. Our guest today is an expert on the topic, Prof Hu Jianxin. Professor Hu holds bachelor's and masters degrees in Chemistry from Peking University. He has...
-
Why are China's carbon emissions still rising - with Qin Qi of CREA
In this episode, we talk about China's carbon emissions and go in for a detailed mid-2023 update, thanks to the data compiled from various Chinese statistical sources by the analysts at CREA, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. We're talking to Qin Qi, an analyst at CREA and the...
-
Renewable Pathways for China – with Michael Davidson and Zhang Zhenhua
Today, we're coming back to the power sector to discuss a new report about the pathways for scaling up renewables as China pursues its policy to peak CO2 emissions by 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2060. The report is entitled Renewable Energy Pathways to Carbon Neutrality in China, and it's...
-
[Chinese] Carbon markets and carbon asset management at Adelphi - with Chen Zhibin
In this latest instalment in our Young People in Sustainability series, we talk with with Chen Zhibin, senior manager at Adelphi and ICAP, the International Carbon Action Partnership. Zhibin has also engaged in carbon market policy research and corporate carbon asset management at the State Power...
-
[Chinese] The Beijing Energy Network swap market - with Nina Ning
Starting from 2020, Beijing Energy Network has held an offline second-hand swap market in Beijing every quarter. In the fifth podcast of our Sustainability Professionals series, Joyce discusses the BEN swap market with Nina Ning, senior researcher at the Global Energy Interconnection Development...
-
Can China's Hydrogen Pilot Cities Help the Low-Carbon Transition? - with Arabella Miller-Wang
In today's episode we're talking about hydrogen development in China, and its potential – or not – for helping with the country's dual carbon goals: carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. Our guest is Arabella Miller-Wang, recently an Aramco fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies and…
more -
[Chinese] Sustainable Energy Professionals: Vestas - with Lai Shengling
Building on our 2022 series of Beijing Energy Network roundtables on young professionals in the field of sustainability and sustainable energy, Environment China has been interviewing various sustainable energy young professionals about their experiences and outlooks. In this episode of the…
more -
[Chinese] Women in Sustainability: Yang Yifan of Oatly
In the third episode of our Women in Sustainability podcast series, we speak to Yang Yifan, the sustainability manager of Oatly. Yang Yifan is concerned about the sustainable development of Oatly's entire value chain in the Asia-Pacific region, meaning she is responsible for the company's...
-
Can China's SOE's lead the low-carbon transition? - with Erlend Ek of China Policy
Today, we're talking about China's low-carbon energy transition and the unique role of State Owned Enterprises, or SOEs. Our guest is Erlend Ek, Lead Analyst for Energy at China Policy. From 2018-2022 Erlend served as advisor for energy affairs at the Royal Norwegian Embassy in BJ. Prior to that...
-
China's food system and climate change - with Sally Qiu and David Sandalow
In this episode, we're continuing on the theme of food sustainability, this time looking at the huge topic of the food system and climate change. It's a topic that gets a lot less attention than emissions from industry and the energy sector, but, as we shall see, food system emissions are...
-
Sustainable Finance for Seafood – with Qianming (Alice) Chen
Today, we're speaking about the topic of sustainable fishing, and especially the role of finance, with Alice Chen. Qianming (Alice) Chen is a researcher at the International Institute of Green Finance, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing. She and colleagues at IIGF and WWF…
more -
International lessons for Shanxi province's coal transition
In today's episode, we are looking at Shanxi province, known as the country's most coal-intensive provincial economy. Over the past several years, various research cooperation efforts have looked at how Shanxi could transition away from its heavy emphasis on coal, and eventually phase down coal…
more -
The Guide to Chinese Climate Policy - with David Sandalow and Michal Meidan
Today, we're discussing the newly released Guide to Chinese Climate Policy, published by the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. The book is available for free download at https://chineseclimatepolicy.oxfordenergy.org/. We are welcoming two past guests back onto the podcast: David Sandalow and...
-
The role of markets in China's energy security challenge - with Yuan Jiahai
Today, we're coming back to the topic of China's power system, the recent power outages in Sichuan, and the role of flexibility. Our guest today is Professor Yuan Jiahai of North China Electric Power University. Professor Yuan a Professor of Management Science at the North China Electric Power...
-
Evolution of China's Green Power Markets - with Sharon Feng
Today, we're talking about China's evolving market for green energy and renewable power purchases, with Sharon Feng, at Director of Advisory Services and Research at Azure International. Sharon is an expert in China's power markets, including renewables, energy storage, power trading, and clean...
-
China's power shortages and solutions - with Xi Xi of iGDP
Today, we're going back to the hot topic of the past two years, namely the energy transition away from coal and how it relates to energy security concerns, especially the recent power outages that have affected parts of the country. Our guest is Xi Xi, an analyst at the innovative Green…
more -
Rethinking plastics and marine litter - with Liu Xiao
Today, we're going to discuss the huge problem of marine plastics. Millions of tons of pastic waste enter the world's oceans every year, and according to the UN Environmental Programme, 85% of marine litter is plastic. Plastic in the ocean is everywhere, and it has consequences for all life at…
more
We're indexing this podcast's transcripts for the first time — this can take a minute or two. We'll show results as soon as they're ready.
No matches for "" in this podcast's transcripts.
No topics indexed yet for this podcast.
Loading reviews...
Loading similar podcasts...
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Environment China have?
Environment China currently has 100 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Environment China about?
Environment China is a bilingual podcast from the Beijing Energy Network. The show features conversations with advocates, entrepreneurs, and experts working in the environmental field in China.
How often does Environment China release new episodes?
Environment China has 100 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Environment China?
You can listen to Environment China on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Environment China?
Environment China is created and hosted by Beijing Energy Network.
URL copied to clipboard!