State-led Climate Adaptation and Guided Resilience: Law, Governance Community Engagement in Coastal China

This incisive book investigates how China’s state-led system shapes the governance of coastal climate adaptation, examining the relationship between law, government, and local communities. Xiaoxuan Chen discusses the implications of a state-led system, in which participation and accountability are implemented through administrative structures, for coastal climate adaptation. The book’s analysis is centred around four interconnected concepts: adaptation, resilience, participation, and accountability. Chapters introduce the concept of guided resilience, addressing how governments shape collaboration. Bringing together legal analysis and a range of case studies, Chen reflects on the impact on a community’s ability to shape long-term decisions. The book also engages with national policy to provide broader context of how key objectives and definitions of resilience emerge. Chen highlights the strengths and limitations of governmental approaches, exploring how domestic implementation and direct action connect in practice. State-led Climate Adaptation and Guided Resilience is an essential reference for students and scholars of environmental and climate law interested in the legal dimensions of participation and accountability. Practitioners in constitutional and administrative law and sustainable development academics will also benefit from the insights into how law structures relations between the state and local communities.