China's Road to Sustainability: Energy Policies and the Dynamics of State Capitalism

President Xi Jinping of China and President Barack Obama from the US announced a historic climate deal at a joint press conference in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on November 12, 2014. This historic climate deal marked China's gradual turn towards a more sustainable development track, which was insti?gated in the mid-1990s. Energy policies were being revised, investments in renewable energy have seen a significant increase, and new environmental regulations were being issued to achieve the objectives. The need for coherent policies that would simultaneously take stock of environ?mental, social and energy priorities were constantly confronted with the scourge of departmentalism, vested or conflicting interests, and lack of enforcement.