Green bonds, a new instrument of Chinese environmental economic policy, represents an important step in the country's effort to systemically transform towards 'ecological civilization'. The involvement of transnational actors alongside Chinese state actors make for a compelling case in examining green finance transitions as a phenomenon in global environmental governance. This paper leverages the transition management framework, adapting concepts from transnational governance, to develop a 'transnational transition management' lens with which a longitudinal analysis of the policy development cycle is viewed. In combination with social network analysis, we use this framework to explore the evolution of green bonds with diverse forms of secondary evidence. We identify a relationship between the rapid expansion of the Chinese green bond market with coalitions of policy makers and organizations in transnational spaces that catalyze policy diffusion and innovation through consensus building, coordinated experimentation, and distributed monitoring and evaluation; predominantly steered and led by the People's Bank of China. In addition, the political economy of actors in these networks help explain resistance to convergence with global green bond standards. This research suggests an agenda for examining the governance of green finance as an entry point to analyze and develop strategies for sustainability transitions in finance.

Fossil fuel subsidies are a market distortion commonly identified as an obstacle to decarbonization. Yet  due to trenchant political economic risks, reform attempts can be fraught for governments. Despite these concerns, an institutionally and economically diverse group of states included references to fossil fuel subsidy reform (FFSR) in their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) under the Paris Agreement. What conditions might explain why some states reference politically risky reforms within treaty commitments, while most others would not? We argue that the Article 4 process under the Paris Agreement creates a “credibility dilemma” for states–articulating ambitious emissions reduction targets while also defining national climate plans engenders a need to seek out appropriate policy ideas that can justify overarching goals to international audiences. Insomuch as particular norms are institutionalized and made salient in international politics, a window of opportunity is opened: issue advocates can “activate” norms by demonstrating how related policies can make commitments credible. Using mixed methods, we find support for this argument. We identify contextual factors advancing FFSR in the lead-up to the Paris Agreement, including norm institutionalization in regimes and international organization programs as well as salience-boosting climate diplomacy. Further, we find correspondences between countries targeted by transnational policy advocates and FFSR references in INDCs, building on the momentum in international politics more generally. Though drafting INDCs and NDCs is a government-owned process, the results suggest that understanding their content requires examining international norms alongside domestic circumstances.

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