Multi-level governance and competing sustainability aims: Politics of renewable energy development and nature conservation in Changdao, China

Governmental departments at various levels and non-governmental actors have been competing over land use for renewable energy development and biodiversity conservation. This study decontextualizes the logic of green–green conflict resolution employing a multi-level governance framework and qualitative methods in China's Changdao district of Yantai city, where the primary development goal has been shifting from a pilot wind energy site to a marine ecological demonstration zone. We find that the central government and environmental NGOs raise questions about the green–green conflict and drive the local government to solve it. The local government, particularly the provincial government, plays a key role in creating platforms for cross-sector and multi-level negotiations, and collaboration among various actors with diverse interests to find innovative solutions. Regarding the many possible land uses, the results suggest that collaboration between governments, companies, and NGOs in multi-level governance is essential in managing the trade-offs between different sustainability aims to create a fairer distribution of the costs and benefits of meeting such goals.