Data collection

The main method for data collection were semi-structured interviews. The interviews were complemented with review of media and policy documents and quantitative data collection from Rizhao and Shandong Statistical Yearbooks. Using semi-structured interviews as a key method for data collection is common in case study research. It was used as method for data collection in most of the case studies on urban climate action listed in the introduction of this section. It is also common to combine semi-structured interviews with other data collection methods. For example, Mai and Fracesch-Huidobro’s (2015) study of municipal governance networks in China uses three case study cities in China to illustrate mechanisms of municipal collaborative networks in climate action. This study combines interviews with analysis of quantitative data.

Interviews: Selection of respondents and data collection strategies

The interviews in Rizhao were carried out between January and July 2013. They included sixteen respondents from the public and private sector and academia. The aim was to speak with individuals with insight into the city’s energy saving and emission reduction policies, as well as into the city’s environmental decision making processes. This includes representatives of municipal authorities (the environmental protection bureau, development and reform commission, construction committee and economic and information technology commission), researchers at local universities, representatives of private companies (a paper and pulp company, chemical factory and solar technology firms), and researchers and planners who have participated in drafting plans and policy in Rizhao but are based in institutions in other locations.

The interview questions were tied to key factors explored in the study, such as the nature of participation in policy making and planning, the nature and implementation of energy programs, participation in energy policy, key environmental and energy challenges. The reason for using semi-structure interviews was to allow respondents to elaborate freely and encourage descriptions based on their respective experience and knowledge about development in the city. The semi-structures format allowed the interviews to be tailored to the different roles of the respondents. Follow-up questions were used to explore questions were the respondents demonstrated particular insight. Questions proceeded from general to specific, and from less sensitive to more sensitive topics. Information about the respondents are listed in Table 3. Table 3: List of interviews in Rizhao

Date Sector Position Organization Knowledge of topic

1 2013.03.13 Acad. Local academics _{(Group interview)} Local university Working with research and teaching into _{environmental issues at university in Rizhao} 2 2013.03.13 Acad. Teacher/researcher Local university Working with industrial recycling research in

Rizhao

3 2013.05.22 Acad. Senior engineer Local university Working with environmental research and teaching, policy advisor in Rizhao

4 2013.05.08 Gov. Manager Rizhao EPB Working for Rizhao’s municipal department

responsible for environmental issues 5 2013.05.14 Gov. Engineer/Planner Rizhao DRC Working as planner for a municipal

department in Rizhao

0 50 100

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

90

6 2013.05.13 Gov. Dept. Director Rizhao CC Working with energy saving in buildings at a municipal department in Rizhao

7 2013.05.09 Gov. Dept. Director Rizhao EITC Working with promotion of recycling

economy at a municipal department in Rizhao 8 2013.03.11 Private Company Director Paper/pulp

company

Working as director at a company that has adopted large scale industrial recycling systems

9 2013.03.12 Private Company Manager Chemical factory

Working as manager at a factory that has adopted large scale industrial recycling systems

10 2013.05.19 Private General Manager PV company Working as manager at a company producing PV products in Rizhao

11 2013.05.21 Private Sales Manager Solar heater company

Working as manager at a company producing solar water heaters in Rizhao

12 2013.04.19 Acad. Assistant Professor University (Beijing)

Working as researcher, lecturer, planner, involved in Rizhao’s planning

13 2013.03.22 Gov./

Acad. Urban planner

Planning institute

Working as urban planner involved in Rizhao’s planning (CAUPD)

14 2013.05.08 Acad. Researcher University

(Beijing)

Working as researcher involved in Rizhao’s transport and spatial planning

15 2013.05.17 Acad. Professor

University (Nanjing) / Research org.

Working with environmental research, was involved in drafting Rizhao’s eco-city plan (CAS)

16 2013.05.17 Gov./

Acad. Dept. Director University (Jilin)

Working as research into Rizhao’s urban development and ecological protection

Collection of complementary data

Complementary quantitative data was collected from Rizhao Statistical Yearbooks and Shandong Provincial Yearbooks, as well as from company websites and websites run by industry organizations and industrial alliances. This information was collected to support information collected through interviews, and included socioeconomic data (population, GDP, income, etc.), data on municipal environmental and energy trends (pollution, energy use, size of green space), infrastructure (transport, water), government budget (income and spending per sector), and (fragmented) company information (e.g. year of establishment, sales income, investment, taxes, registered number of staff energy consumption, economic savings through energy retrofits, awards for energy conservation). The quantitative data is summarized in Tables 4 to 6 below.

Table 4: Quantitative data collected from Rizhao Statistical Yearbooks

Data Availability

Socioeconomic: Population 1978-2010 Socioeconomic: GDP 1978-2010 Socioeconomic: GDP growth (cap) 1978-2010 Socioeconomic: Average disposable income 1989-2010 Socioeconomic: Economic income/sector 1978-2010 Socioeconomic: Economic size/sector 1978-2010 Socioeconomic: GDP industry 1978-2010 Socioeconomic: Total exports/imports 1978-2010 Socioeconomic: Total FDI 1990-2010 Socioeconomic: Fixed asset investment/sector Varying Infrastructure: Length of highways 1978-2010 Infrastructure: Length of water-pipes 1993-2010 Transport: Public transport (passenger total) 1993-2010 Transport: Public transport vehicles 1993-2010 Transport: Private vehicles 2002-2010 Energy: Total energy consumption/sector 2007-2010 Energy: Total industrial energy consumption/sector 2005-2010 Energy: Total industrial energy consumption/source 2006-2010 Environmental: Population density 1993-2010 Environmental: Water use/cap/day 1993-2010 Environmental: Green area/cap 1993-2010 Environmental: Urban built up area 2002-2010 Environmental: Polluted water emissions 2002-2010 Environmental: COD emissions 2002-2010

91

Environmental: Sulphur dioxide emissions 2002-2010 Environmental: Dust emissions 2002-2010 Government income per source 2002-2010 Government spending per sector 2002-2010

Table 5: Quantitative data collected from Shandong Provincial Yearbooks

Data Availability

Energy: Electricity consumption/10’000 RMB 2005-2010 Energy: Total industrial energy consumption of enterprises over

designated size/10’000 RMB 2005-2010 Energy: Household electricity consumption 2009-2010 Energy: Industry electricity consumption 2009-2010

Table 6: Quantitative data from websites of companies and industrial alliances Information

Registered assets of major industrial units Year of establishment of major industrial units Production income of major industrial units Amount tax paid by major industrial units Energy consumed by major industrial units

Energy savings through retrofits realized by major industrial units Size of state support (subsidies and awards) for retrofits

Size of investments into green technology by major industrial units Registered assets of major green-tech units

No. staff employed by major green-tech units Year of establishment of major green-tech units

Further information was collected from government websites and news websites. The municipal government website (Rizhao.gov.cn) contains information (in Chinese) on news, local policy guidelines and implementation, websites of municipal government departments (EPB, EITC, DRC, etc.), environmental and energy achievements and projects. Key news websites include Rizhao News Web (the official news-site of the CPC committee of Rizhao Daily), Rizhao News (the online version of Rizhao TV and Radio Station), Dazhong Web (a Shandong-based site established under the State Council Information Office) and Qilu Network (the online version Shandong’s TV and Radio Stations).