Financing the Global Low-carbon Energy Transition: China’s Dual Role Domestically and Overseas

There is worldwide attention on environmental innova-tion as concepts and political agendas focus on chal-lenges related to green growth, low-carbon technology development and sustainability transition. Central to meeting these challenges is the need to address the tensions between the environment and the current (unsustainable) economic regime. However, achieving the political goal of building green economies requires a holistic perspective that links economic policy with controlled carbon emissions and enhanced energy and resource efficiency. A reorientation of investments to greener industries and businesses relies largely on green technological innovation and the creation of new sectors, with both elements driven by policy initiatives (Schot and Steinmueller 2018; Geels et al. 2017; Borel-Saladin and Turok 2013).