Public Participation and Climate Adaptation in China

In episode 246 of America Adapts, host Doug Parsons hosts Dr. Shiran Victoria Shen, assistant professor at Washington University in St. Louis, for a closer look at how climate adaptation actually emerges in China. Drawing on her research after the devastating 2021 Henan flood, Shen shows how public demand for adaptation surged—not through climate change language, but through calls for safety, infrastructure, and risk reduction, often using formal government channels. The conversation highlights adaptation as a lived governance issue rather than an ideological one, and surfaces practical lessons about public participation, the limits of top-down approaches, and what governments everywhere tend to respond to when climate risk becomes impossible to ignore.

Transcript of interview here.

Key Themes Covered in This Episode

How public demand for climate adaptation emerges after extreme disasters
Why people often ask for adaptation without using “climate change” language
The 2021 Henan flood as a national turning point for adaptation awareness in China
Public participation and formal governance channels, including the Local Leaders’ Message Board
Differences between adaptation and mitigation from a governance perspective
The limits of top-down adaptation and where citizen influence realistically ends
What adaptation in China reveals about public engagement globally
Lessons for policymakers, planners, and communicators working outside the U.S.

Links & Resources from This Episode

For Educators & Students

This episode is well-suited for courses on climate adaptation, environmental governance, public policy, or comparative politics.
Key themes include public participation, disaster response, adaptation without climate language, and institutional limits.
Professors are welcome to assign this episode or excerpts in syllabi.

Who Should Listen to This Episode

Climate adaptation and resilience practitioners
Urban and regional planners working on risk, infrastructure, or public engagement
Researchers and students studying climate governance, adaptation, or comparative policy
Government staff and policymakers involved in disaster response or long-term planning
Funders and foundations interested in how public demand shapes adaptation outcomes
Climate communicators looking to move beyond technical or ideological framing
Anyone interested in how climate adaptation is unfolding outside the United States

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