"Smog or Heat: The Controversy over China’s Combating Air Pollution and Its Governance Implications." Guest Speaker:Ya Li, Visiting Research Professor at PARCC.  He is also a Professor at the School of Public Administration, Beihang University, Beijing, China and serves as the director of the Laboratory for Deliberative Policy Analysis (LDPA) and the Center for Public Dispute Resolution (CPDR), both at the same University. 

The northern part of China has suffered severe smog for a long time. It seems that China is winning the war against air pollution at a record pace. Some actions are extraordinary and controversial. In the past winter, for example, several provinces surrounding Beijing launched an aggressive coal elimination campaign. Coal sales were prohibited and coal boilers for winter heating were forcefully removed, before gas replacements can be available. Many families and even schools suffered a cold winter without heat.  The talk will present China’s anti-air-pollution efforts and outline the ambition and options of phasing out coals.  It will focus on the disputes arisen from the winter campaign, the new way of decision-making, as well as its wider implication – the shift pattern of governance. 

Conversations in Conflict Studies is a weekly educational speaker series for students, faculty, and the community. The series, sponsored by PARCC, draws its speakers from Syracuse University faculty, national and international scholars and activists, and PhD students. Pizza is served. Follow us on Twitter @PARCCatMaxwell, tweet #ConvoInConflict.

If you require accommodations, please contact Deborah Toole by email at datoole@syr.edu or by phone at 315.443.2367.