Nima has been practicing law since 1997. He has lived and worked in China since 1999. Much of his work has involved engagement with regulatory authorities in Asia and the Far East. He is committed to continued learning and dialogue in the fields of governance and regulation and energy efficiency.

Nima’s doctoral research: China is the world’s largest consumer of energy. Maintaining its economic growth will require more energy. Much of this energy will be used by major industries that feed and sustain the Chinese (and by extension global) economy. As the Chinese economy grows, environmental degradation, national security and social stability, too, become increasingly tied to energy availability. China’s domestic regulators are faced with an intractable problem: How to maintain growth and productivity, while curbing energy intensity? This is in large part a question of efficiency. More efficient use of energy means protection of valuable resources used in generating energy, it also equates with reduced emissions and environmental impact, including climate change.

Although increasing energy efficiency has been a goal for Chinese policy makers for nearly fifteen years (the PRC Energy Conservation Law was enacted in 1997), domestic regulators have had limited success in achieving national targets set for energy efficiency. In recent years, several key industries have been identified as major power consumers and have been targeted for special regulatory attention. One of these industries is the petrochemical industry, which is core to sustaining robust economic development, but is also a massive consumer of energy.

Notably, industry actors vary in size and sophistication and are often, but not always, state-owned. This adds a layer of complexity to the regulation of a large portion of this sector insofar as it is a sort of intra-governmental regulation. The challenge for regulators is to create a regulatory framework that will elicit performance across a wide range of firms and circumstances.

Scholarship: Australian Postgraduate Awards

What drives regulatory effectiveness? Regulating energy efficiency in the petrochemical industry in China, 1997-2012