News & Events

We are delighted to share that project PI Yixian Sun has been appointed as a new co-chair of the Earth System Governance Project’s Scientific Steering Committee (SSC), alongside Steffen Bauer. Together, they will help guide the network’s research priorities and strengthen its global community of scholars working on the governance of sustainability transformations.

We are also pleased to announce that our project members Yuen Gu and Jiuyang Li have joined the Earth System Governance Project as research fellows, further deepening our ties to this vibrant research community!

On September 23rd, project PI Yixian Sun took part in the ‘Clean Energy Supply Chains in the Era of Industrial Policy’ policy at Climate Week NYC 2026.

The panel examined one of the defining challenges of the energy transition: how can countries strengthen energy security and domestic industries without slowing the deployment of affordable clean technologies? Discussion connected research across solar PV, offshore wind, and electric vehicles, exploring some of the most important questions facing energy transition.

Yixian presented SGAIN’s CGEL database and our wider research in conversations around the development of China as a global environmental leader in the last 25 years, and its new efforts in promoting sustainable transition. The full recording is available here

From 7 – 10th September 2026, SGAIN members attended the Bath Conference on Earth System Governance (ESG). The annual ESG conference was centred around “Building just and sustainable futures for planetary integrity”, with SGAIN PI Yixian Sun chairing. Across the four-day event, SGAIN organised three sessions on China’s role in global green governance.

In “China’s emerging leadership in global environmental governance and green soft power”, members presented our new conceptualisation of green soft power, alongside an introduction to the forthcoming book and the CGEL database. The session also saw breakout discussions, where SGAIN led conversations in regional groups to dig into the rise and effects of China’s green soft power in different contexts.

At “China’s ‘green’’ investments and sustainability transitions in the Global South” and “The rise of China’s global green soft power” on Wednesday, team members Yuen Gu and Jiuyang Li both chaired and presented their cutting-edge research: fieldwork on Indonesian community experiences in China-supported renewables, and norm co-production in China-Pakistan, a paper developed in collaboration with the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI).

Across these two events, speakers brought together perspectives on Indonesia’s ESG politics, global trust/distrust dynamics, the Green Belt and Road’s energy transition impact in Bangladesh, desertification, China’s climate leadership and more. In the closing plenary, SGAIN doctoral researcher Muhammad Faisal Sharif moderated the panel on early career researcher’s reflections on the conference and the future of the field.

Finally, on Friday 11th September, our full international SGAIN team came together at the University of Bath for a full day of reflection, collaboration, and planning.

Members from Bath, Indonesia, Bangladesh, China, and Pakistan reflected on the ESG conference, presented their ongoing and planned research, and finally shaped 2026/27 work plans in focused break-out sessions.

Together, the conference and the follow-up planning day underscored the breadth and momentum of SGAIN’s work on China’s evolving role in global environmental governance. With new research directions agreed and international collaborations strengthened, the network heads into 2026/27 well-positioned to deepen this work and share its findings even more widely.

SGAIN had an active summer of research presentations and partnership building. PhD student Yuen Gu presented her paper, “China’s Climate Finance Positioning in Global Climate Governance” at the 19th Annual Conference of the Political Science and International Relations Academic Community, hosted by Tsinghua University’s Institute of International Relations.

The conference brought together scholars from universities and research institutions across China to discuss current developments in international relations and global governance. Yuen’s presentation examined how China’s climate finance is understood and positioned within the evolving global climate governance architecture, highlighting the relationship between conceptual framing, international norms, and China’s role in global climate cooperation.

In July, team member Yitong Ye visited the School of Political Science and Public Administration at Shandong University, meeting with faculty for a warm exchange on shared research interests in global climate and environmental governance. Discussions focused on the long-standing collaboration between the two universities and ways to deepen it through joint seminars, faculty visits, and student exchange. Yitong also delivered a talk titled “Embedding and Reshaping: China-led International Climate Cooperation and the UN System,” drawing on the team’s China’s Global Environmental Leadership Database (https://cgel.sgain.org/) and combining social network analysis with LLM-assisted framing analysis to examine how China-led climate initiatives interact with the UN multilateral system - at both the institutional and discursive levels.

We are grateful for these opportunities to share our research and deepen academic partnerships!

On 4 July 2026, we organised a workshop entitled “The Shifting Landscape of Global Climate Governance” in Shanghai. The workshop was co-convened by our PI, Professor Yixian Sun, and our China team lead, Professor Bowen Yu, at the School of International Relations and Public Affairs (SIRPA) of Fudan University. Bringing together around twenty leading experts on climate policy and governance from top Chinese universities, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and China Meteorological Administration, the 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.

Discussions explored three interconnected themes shaping the future of climate governance. The first examined recent developments in multilateral climate governance, including changing negotiation processes, agenda-setting, and the growing role of science, AI and non-state actors in climate action. The second focused on the increasingly close links between climate change and other issues such as international development, litigation, and trade, reflecting the growing complexity of climate governance. The final session considered China’s evolving role in global climate governance, exploring China’s contribution through environmental diplomacy, export and investment of clean technologies, and South–South climate cooperation. SGAIN researchers made 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 for global climate governance.

The workshop concluded with an interactive breakout session on future research priorities and policy recommendations. Participants reflected on the declining political salience of climate change amid growing geopolitical competition and discussed how climate governance should be understood alongside broader transformations in the international order and political economy. They also highlighted the importance of communicating China’s experiences to a global audience through clearer narratives and internationally accessible knowledge. The event further strengthened SGAIN’s research network in China and created new opportunities for collaborative research, knowledge exchange and policy engagement. During the visit, Professor Yixian Sun also represented the University of Bath in signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Fudan University’s SIRPA, providing a foundation for continued collaboration between the two institutions.

From 26 June - 17 July 2026, SGAIN Doctoral Researcher Jiuyang Li completed three weeks of fieldwork in Islamabad, hosted by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI). Over the course of the visit, Jiuyang conducted 36 elite interviews across three groups: government officials engaged in CPEC’s Joint Cooperation Committee and Joint Working Groups, representatives from Chinese and Pakistani energy companies, and researchers from Islamabad-based think tanks working on climate and energy policy.

The fieldwork builds on an earlier phase of research analysing China-Pakistan bilateral documents, and will inform the next stage of Jiuyang’s doctoral research. We are grateful to SDPI and the SGAIN Pakistan team for their generous hosting and support throughout the visit, and we look forward to sharing further findings in the coming months.

On 26 May 2026, the Institute of Sustainability and Climate Change (ISCC) at the University of Bath, together with the SGAIN team, hosted Dr Weiye Wang, Associate Professor at Renmin University of China, for a guest lecture on environmental governance in China through the Green Shield Action campaign.

Drawing on fieldwork conducted in Fujian Province between 2019 and 2022, Dr Wang explored how campaign-style environmental governance shapes interactions between central authorities, local governments, protected area managers, and local communities. The talk examined the role of political pressure, ecological protection, and policy adjustment in China’s environmental governance system, while also discussing the broader implications of authoritarian environmentalism and ecological governance reform.

The seminar brought together staff and students from across disciplines and generated engaging discussions on environmental governance, conservation policy, and sustainability transitions in China and beyond.

Doctoral Researcher Muhammad Faisal Sharif undertook a six-week Overseas Institutional Visit at the Center for Environmental Justice, Colorado State University, supported by the ESRC South West Doctoral Training Partnership (SWDTP).

During his stay at CSU, Faisal participated in research discussions, seminars, workshops, and meetings, including engagements with the Energy Institute, the Institute for the Built Environment, and the Alliance Center for Sustainability in Denver. He also delivered a talk titled “Beyond the Grid: Energy Governance, Justice and Pakistan’s People-Led Solar Transition in the Global South” as part of CEJ’s Java & Justice Speaker Series, engaging with academics, practitioners, and community stakeholders.

We look forward to future collaboration between the University of Bath and Colorado State University!

SGAIN was delighted to support Professor Ben Cashore’s Global Chair Public Lecture, “Climate Policy Thermostats: The Planet’s Last Hope?”, held on Thursday, 14 May 2026. Hosted by Prof. Yixian Sun and co-hosted by the Institute for Sustainability and Climate Change and the Department of Social & Policy Sciences, the event explored why decades of climate policy experimentation have not yet delivered the scale of action required to avoid catastrophic warming.

Professor Cashore introduced the idea of “thermostatic institutions”: policy systems capable of maintaining long-term objectives by automatically adjusting as conditions change. Drawing on examples from non-climate domains, he argued that climate change should be treated as a “prioritisation” problem, requiring stronger authority, clearer objectives and more interdisciplinary policy design. The lecture opened up important questions around governance capacity, compliance, policy learning and the institutional innovations needed to keep the 1.5/2°C goal within reach.

We are pleased to announce that the Bangladesh team has successfully completed major fieldwork under the ongoing SGAIN research project in Bangladesh.

The field investigation was carried out in two phases at two large-scale solar power plants under the leadership of Dr. Muhammad Badrul Hasan and his research team. At both research sites, the team conducted focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with local community members and stakeholders.

The fieldwork generated valuable insights into local perceptions of Chinese investment as well as the socio-economic and environmental impacts of large-scale solar power projects in Bangladesh.

Project PI Dr Yixian Sun has been appointed to the Academic Advisory Council (AAC) of the United Nations Forum on Sustainability Standards (UNFSS) .

By contributing to this global network of leading scholars, Yixian brings expertise in global value chains, sustainability governance, and the green transition in China, supporting deeper analysis of how voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) shape firm behaviour and international production networks.

We look forward to seeing contributions to the development of global sustainable value chains with stakeholders involved in the forum through research and policy dialogues! More information on the AAC can be found here

We are excited to share that from 12-15 April 2026, the SGAIN Indonesia team conducted its second round of fieldwork, visiting key national stakeholders in Jakarta, Indonesia, where researchers Nur Rachmat Yuliantoro, Maharani Hapsari, Randy Nandyatama, and Nadya Zafira conducted interviews.
This round of fieldwork serves to collect data at the national level in order to complement data at the sub-national and local levels that were gained through our previous fieldwork in West Java in 2025.

The Jakarta fieldwork provided valuable insights to deepen our understanding of the challenges and opportunities of Indonesia’s energy transition. As a follow-up, more interviews with government key stakeholders are planned.

From 22–25 March 2026, SGAIN researchers attended the 67th Annual Convention of the International Studies Association (ISA) in Columbus, Ohio. The convention brought together thousands of scholars and practitioners from across the globe to engage with the latest research in international relations, global governance, and sustainability. SGAIN was well represented at this year’s convention, with three team members presenting research and chairing panels across a wide range of topics central to the project’s mission.

SGAIN Postdoctoral Researcher Yitong Ye presented two papers at the convention. The first, co-authored with PI Dr. Yixian Sun, examined soft power and competing media narratives surrounding China’s overseas engagement. The second, co-authored with Postdoctoral Researcher at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research Xiaoran Li and Dr. Sun, explored policy connections in China’s national climate governance since the Paris Agreement. In addition to her presentations, Yitong also chaired the panel Greening China’s Overseas Investments and Its Implications for Sustainable Development, bringing together scholars examining the environmental dimensions of China’s global economic footprint.

PhD Researcher Yuen Gu presented two papers drawing on the SGAIN project’s comparative and Indonesia-focused research. The first, co-authored with Dr. Sun and Reader at the University of Bath, Dr. Michael Bloomfield, analysed China’s South-South climate cooperation and the tension between global climate governance and national interests. The second, co-authored with SGAIN’s Indonesia team (based at Gadjah Mada University) — Dr. Maharani Hapsari, Dr. Randy Wirasta Nandyatama, and Prof. Nur Rachmat Yuliantoro — alongside Dr. Sun, investigated community experiences of partial justice in China-supported renewable energy projects in Indonesia, offering grounded perspectives from the Global South on the social dimensions of clean energy transitions.

PhD Researcher Jiuyang Li presented two papers and chaired a panel. His co-authored paper with Dr. Sun and Dr. Bloomfield examined how China’s South-South environmental cooperation engages with and reshapes global green governance norms. His sole-authored paper offered an analysis of China’s ‘Ecological Civilization’ framework as a distinctive approach to environmental governance. Jiuyang also chaired the panel Addressing the Climate Crisis: Finance, the Ecological State, and Resilience, facilitating scholarly dialogue on some of the most pressing structural challenges in global climate governance.

On the evening of 24 March, the SGAIN team attended the ISA Environmental Studies Section (ESS) Reception, joining scholars from institutions around the world who share a commitment to understanding the intersections of international relations and environmental governance. The reception offered a valuable opportunity to exchange ideas, explore potential collaborations, and deepen connections with the global community of researchers working on climate change, sustainability, and global environmental politics. The convention as a whole reinforced the relevance of SGAIN’s research agenda and helped expand the project’s network at a critical moment for global climate governance.

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 to discuss sustainability, governance, and global challenges.
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.

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

On 4 March, our PI Dr Yixian Sun was invited to give a talk at the Political Economy Future Forum Seminar at the University of Glasgow. He presented a paper introducing our China’s Global Environmental Leadership (CGEL) Database and highlighted key findings on China’s rising leadership in global environmental governance. Researchers from different disciplines at the University attended the workshop and provided insightful feedback on our research. We are grateful for the invitation of Prof Bernhard Reinsberg and look forward to deepening our collaboration with Glasgow.

Last week, University of Bath’s Global Chair and SGAIN Advisory Board member Benjamin Cashore visited Bath. Professor of Public Management at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Director of the Institute for Environment & Sustainability (IES) at NUS’ Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Professor Cashore is a globally-recognised scholar in the field of environmental governance and public policy. 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.

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.

On 3 February 2026, the SGAIN Indonesia team organised a workshop in Jakarta, entitled “Advancing Indonesia-China Partnerships for Clean Energy Transition: Policy, Governance, and Practices”. Over thirty representatives of Indonesian and Chinese governments, businesses, and civil society participated in the workshop together in Jakarta as part of the SGAIN project’s stakeholder workshop to share opportunities and challenges to collaboration in the clean energy sector and identify pathways to better leverage China’s support for the acceleration of Indonesia’s energy transition.

The workshop was opened by Dr. 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. 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. Speakers included representatives from the Ministry of National Development and Planning (Bappenas), Ministry of Investment and Downstream Industry (BKPM), and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), PT Aruna Cahay Pratama, Asosiasi Energi Surya Indonesia, Center for Economic and Law Studies (CELIOS), SMERU Institute, GermanWatch, Indonesia Climate and Growth Dialogue, and Universitas Indonesia.

Altogether, the workshop has produced valuable insights from a diversity of stakeholders in Indonesia’s energy transition, helped to enhance exchanges and coordination among them, and potentially can open up new avenues for clean energy cooperation between Indonesia and China. Based on the workshop discussions, we will develop policy brief with concrete policy recommendations to both Indonesian and Chinese stakeholders.

In the rest of the last week, our project PI Yixian Sun and PhD researcher Yuen Gu also had meetings with a range of key Chinese companies in the clean energy supply chains operating in Indonesia. This research trip has significantly expanded our networks in Indonesia, which will allow us to produce more relevant and impactful research in coming years.

On 19-24 Jan, our PI Dr Yixian Sun had a productive trip in Beijing to attend several events and meet with collaborators.

On 22 Jan, he participated in the first UK-China Track 2 Developed Cooperation Dialogue co-organised by the Institute of Development Studies and the Center for International Knowledge on Development. The dialogue convened over 30 senior experts from China and the UK to exchange views on prospective UK-China cooperation on international development in two key themes – climate action and low-carbon transition and public health. As an expert on climate and energy governance, Dr Sun shared his insights on China’s shifting role in global climate governance and complementary advantages of China and the UK in supporting energy transition in the Global South. The dialogue aims to advise the policies in both countries on international development cooperation and enhance cooperation between the two governments.

During his time in Beijing, Dr Sun also gave a talk entitled “The rise and characteristics of China’s leadership in global environmental governance” at Beijing Normal University, and met collaborators from Peking University, Tsinghua University, University of International Business and Economics, CHINCA, Institute for Global Decarbonization Progress, and WRI China.