Abstract

A significant change over the past decade is the emergence of digital technology to identify, analyze, report on, and respond to polluting activities in China. Advanced technologies such as geographic information systems (GIS), the global positioning system (GPS), and remote sensing  (RS) technologies have opened the door to new modes of amnaging the environment. Most recently, ‘big data’ approaches in environemntal management have emerged in China. At the national level, the MEP (now the MEE) announced in 2016 the construction of a national ecological big data platform by 2021. Innovative efforts to intoduce new digital environmental management mechanisms are also underway at subnational levels, including the set-up of new big data platforms in Guizhou, Shanghai and Shenzen. This talk will discuss recent innovative data strategies in environmental management at both national and subnational levels. One particular interesting aspect of the embrace of big data is the relationships that have sprung up between the state and businesses. Studying these new actor constellations deserve further in-depth study since they raise important new issues surrounding data sharing and data privacy practices, diverging interests between firms and governments.

About Professor Genia Kostka

Genia Kostka is a Professor of Chinese Politics at the Freie Universität Berlin. Her research and teaching interests are in China’s energy governance, digital transformation, and political economy. Previously, she was a Professor of Governance of Energy and Infrastructure at the Hertie School of Governance (where she remains a Fellow), an assistant professor at the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management and a strategic management consultant for McKinsey & Company. She has a PhD in Development Studies from the University of Oxford, an MA with specializations in International Economics and International Development from SAIS Johns Hopkins University and a BSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Her work has appeared in leading area studies and social science journals including Comparative Political Studies, Regulation & Governance, Environmental Politics, Energy Policy, and The China Quarterly. Alongside her academic work, she regularly consults for international organizations, including the World Bank, OECD, AusAID, GIZ, and Oxfam.