Overview

The world cannot address its pressing environmental problems without China. But can China be relied upon as a steadfast steward of nature, as its leaders have claimed in recent years?   Prominent environmental campaigner and reporter Ma Tianjie gets to the heart of China’s remarkable ecological transformation to answer this question. He takes us on a journey through the country’s thirty-year struggle to clean up its rivers, clear its air and stabilize carbon emissions, drawing out the complex political impulses that have helped and hindered progress. Anchoring his storytelling in some of China’s major environmental challenges - from Beijing’s ‘airpocalypse’ to the cancer villages of the Huai River basin, he shows how the ideas and actions of few extraordinary individuals were critical in changing China from a heavily polluted country to a place where environmental issues are high on the agenda. The complex ecological tapestry Ma paints illuminates the key ideas, experiences and influences that have shaped China’s environmental consciousness and will continue to frame the search for green China well into the twenty-first century.

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9781509557226

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Reviews

""Written by an insider with considerable experience in the field, this is a fascinating and highly accessible book profiling some of the most influential environmental actors and events that have shaped China’s path towards a greener future.” Thomas R. Johnson, University of Sheffield “Ma Tianjie’s In Search of Green China is the insider’s account we have been waiting for. Mr. Ma’s deep experience and personal relationships with key figures in the Chinese environmental movement inform his insightful analysis, historical perspective, and great narrative style. Here is a nuanced and complex portrait of China’s environmental journey.” Judith Shapiro, author of China’s Environmental Challenges

“A highly nuanced portrayal of the complex politics behind China's efforts to address its most pressing environmental problems. A wonderful addition to our understanding of how Chinese politics really work.” Elizabeth C. Economy, Hargrove Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University “This insightful book by prominent Chinese environmental campaigner Ma Tianjie features rarely heard reflections on some of the most critical moments and individuals in China's arduous journey toward environmental sustainability.” Ma Jun, Goldman Environmental Prize Winner and Founding Director of the Institute for Public and Environmental Affairs, China “Delighted to see the recognition here for China's brave environmental campaigners in their country's efforts to reimagine the relationship between industrial society and nature. This book is a useful account of the journey taken by the world's biggest emitter to move away from a high-carbon trajectory, and to accept that long-term national strength is less about boosting GDP and more about building natural capital.” Jonathan Watts,Guardian global environment editor and author ofWhen a Billion Chinese Jump: How China Will Save the World – or Destroy It “Ma Tianjie’s In Search of Green China is the insider’s account we have been waiting for. Mr. Ma’s deep experience and personal relationships with key figures in the Chinese environmental movement inform his insightful analysis, historical perspective, and great narrative style. Here is a nuanced and complex portrait of China’s environmental journey.” Judith Shapiro, author of China’s Environmental Challenges “This book is required reading for everyone concerned with the environmental fate of the Earth.” Robert B. Marks, Emeritus Professor of History and Environmental Studies, Whittier College, and author of China: An Environmental History “remind[s] us that the barriers to climate action are not always as obvious as they may seem.” Financial Times “forensic” Isabel Hilton, Prospect ""Everyone knows China is a green energy colossus with a powerful grip on the world’s solar, wind, battery and electric car markets. The story of its struggle to clean up its notoriously polluted air and rivers is less well known and as this book shows, not unlike some battles fought by western environmental campaigners.” Pilita Clark, Financial Times, Best Summer Books of 2025: Environment Science and Technology

“A highly nuanced portrayal of the complex politics behind China's efforts to address its most pressing environmental problems. A wonderful addition to our understanding of how Chinese politics really work.” Elizabeth C. Economy, Hargrove Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University “This insightful book by prominent Chinese environmental campaigner Ma Tianjie features rarely heard reflections on some of the most critical moments and individuals in China's arduous journey toward environmental sustainability.” Ma Jun, Goldman Environmental Prize Winner and Founding Director of the Institute for Public and Environmental Affairs, China “Delighted to see the recognition here for China's brave environmental campaigners in their country's efforts to reimagine the relationship between industrial society and nature. This book is a useful account of the journey taken by the world's biggest emitter to move away from a high-carbon trajectory, and to accept that long-term national strength is less about boosting GDP and more about building natural capital.” Jonathan Watts,Guardian global environment editor and author ofWhen a Billion Chinese Jump: How China Will Save the World – or Destroy It “Ma Tianjie’s In Search of Green China is the insider’s account we have been waiting for. Mr. Ma’s deep experience and personal relationships with key figures in the Chinese environmental movement inform his insightful analysis, historical perspective, and great narrative style. Here is a nuanced and complex portrait of China’s environmental journey.” Judith Shapiro, author of China’s Environmental Challenges “This book is required reading for everyone concerned with the environmental fate of the Earth.” Robert B. Marks, Emeritus Professor of History and Environmental Studies, Whittier College, and author of China: An Environmental History “remind[s] us that the barriers to climate action are not always as obvious as they may seem.” Financial Times

Author Information

Ma Tianjie is a freelance writer and environmental activist based in Beijing. Formerly, he was Director of China Dialogue Beijing from 2015 to 2022, reporting on China's environmental affairs for a global audience. He was also Greenpeace's Program Director for Mainland China. He is a regular commentator on China's environmental challenges contributing to a range of domestic and international media organizations, including CGTN, South China Morning Post and Foreign Policy.

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