Curbing Consumption in China
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Curbing Consumption in China The Vehicle Quota System in Guangzhou Thea Marie Valler Master thesis in Culture, Environment and Sustainability Centre for Development and Environment UNIVERSITY OF OSLO 15.11.2017 II © Thea Marie Valler 2017 Curbing Consumption in China: The Vehicle Quota System in Guangzhou http://www.duo.uio.no/ Print: Reprosentralen, University of Oslo III Abstract Addressing the environmental challenges that are a result of the ballooning Chinese economy is becoming an increasingly important national priority. Today, China has the highest number of deaths linked to ambient air pollution of any other country in the world. The transport sector contributes significantly to this pollution. To address these issues, several Chinese cities have chosen to implement the vehicle quota system (VQS). In 2012, VQS was implemented in Guangzhou and the rate of vehicle ownership plummeted from 18% to 5% in just over a year. This thesis explores public attitudes and the local government’s motivation for implementing this policy through qualitative interviews with local experts and residents. It is important to have a better understanding of the human dimensions of the steps China is taking to tackle the highly intertwined problems of air pollution and traffic congestion. It is equally as important to understand that the quota approach is an alternative to other transport policies making it particularly interesting to research. There are various local adaptations to the VQS policy and I explore various explanations for this to demonstrate the complexity of policy implementation in China. In Guangzhou, there are two options for people who want a license to own a car registered in the municipality – lottery or auction. Guangzhou stands out from other cities with VQS in not restricting cars registered outside to enter the city. These adaptations sustain people’s definitional power of own car purchase, enabled by a fundamental level of government trust. Additionally, I argue that the seriousness of air pollution and traffic congestion is perceived in relative terms, calling into question a link between problem perception and policy acceptance. Keywords: local politics in China, urban governance, transportation; environmental sustainability, vehicle quota system, policy acceptance, air pollution, government trust Acknowledgements Conducting field work has been an incredibly interesting and challenging experience. It would not have been possible without the informants generously sharing their experiences and knowledge with me. The whole process would have been a lot more stressful without the calm and positive attitude of my supervisor, Arve Hansen. He has steered me through the process with much valued input and interesting discussions. Thanks to Fridtjof Nansen Institute for providing financial support and the perfect environment for writing a thesis. I am especially grateful to my academic contact person, Iselin Stensdal, for feedback and pep talks. Having expertise on Chinese environmental policy right down the stairs has truly been an advantage. I am also grateful to Anna Ahlers at Airborne for her guiding advice, welcoming attitude, and interest in my project. My deepest gratitude to my translator, Shu-Ping Lee. His polite and trusting nature made interviewing much easier, and his continued availability to answer my questions has been highly appreciated. Thanks to all the people who helped me find informants. Thanks to Norwegian Consulate General in Guangzhou, and to the Nordic Centre at Fudan University for providing much needed help. There are so many people in China of which I owe my gratitude, but Sidney and Lina stands out for making Guangzhou feel like home, and Hege and Jonas for beers and dinner. Without a discussion with Xi Yang, I would never even have thought of choosing this topic. Also, thanks to my friends in Norway, Nan and Ming-Jen for brushing up my Chinese phrases and helping me navigate Chinese webpages. To Anne-Line and Gudrun for the best study coordinators one could possibly think of. Thanks to Erin for proofreading and making the text that much clearer. Thanks to Ingrid for making home a home. To my partner Preben, for keeping my feet on the ground, continuous support through frustration and doing what you do best – references. Lastly, to Viggo for encouraging me to look beyond Norway, though it did not turn out exactly according to your plans. II Table of contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................. I Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................ II Table of contents ........................................................................................................... III List of figures ................................................................................................................. VI List of tables ................................................................................................................. VII Acronyms .................................................................................................................... VIII Chinese Words .............................................................................................................. IX 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Rationale and Research Question ....................................................................... 3 1.2 Thesis Outline .................................................................................................... 5 2 Methods .................................................................................................................... 7 2.1 A Qualitative Approach ..................................................................................... 7 2.2 Doing Research in and on China ........................................................................ 9 2.2.1 Adaptability ................................................................................................ 9 2.2.2 Sensitivity ................................................................................................. 10 2.2.3 Secondary Sources .................................................................................... 11 2.3 Access, Sampling and Recruiting Informants .................................................. 13 2.4 Semi-structured Qualitative Interviews ............................................................ 17 2.4.1 Using a Translator ..................................................................................... 19 2.5 The Field .......................................................................................................... 20 2.5.1 Why Guangzhou? ..................................................................................... 20 2.5.2 Doing Fieldwork ....................................................................................... 22 2.6 Positionality...................................................................................................... 24 2.7 Ethical Considerations ..................................................................................... 26 3 Background ............................................................................................................. 27 3.1 Environmental Policies with Chinese Characteristics ...................................... 27 3.2 Perception of the Car in Transition .................................................................. 29 3.3 Air Pollution and Transport in Guangzhou ...................................................... 30 3.4 The Vehicle Quota System............................................................................... 34 3.4.1 TDMs in Guangzhou ................................................................................ 36 3.4.2 VQS in Guangzhou: Policy Description ................................................... 40 3.4.3 Defining the Vehicle Quota System in Guangzhou .................................. 42 III 4 Literature Review and Theoretical Approach ......................................................... 44 4.1 A Contextualist Approach to Studying VQS .................................................... 44 4.2 Acceptance, Acceptability, Support and Public Perception ............................. 45 4.3 Owning a Car in China: Perspectives from Consumption Studies ................... 46 4.4 Literature Review of VQS ................................................................................ 48 5 Implementation and policy design .......................................................................... 53 5.1 The Sudden Implementation ............................................................................. 53 5.2 Why VQS? ........................................................................................................ 54 5.2.1 Officially Stated Purpose .......................................................................... 54 5.2.2 Urgency and Effectiveness ........................................................................ 56 5.2.3 Fulfilling Directives and Targets ............................................................... 58 5.2.4 Economic Considerations .......................................................................... 59 5.3 VQS for the Future? ........................................................................................