Cross-Border Governance and Sustainable Energy Transition: The Case of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area

This study provides a conceptual framework of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) as a top-down project of cross-border governance (CBG). It examines the CBG theory and articulates the practices and challenges. It also reviews the energy collaboration between Hong Kong and Guangdong with the aim of situating the GBA project within a historical frame. This review highlights the importance of the building of institutions for achieving effective cross-border governance. It also shows that, for the regional energy cooperation of the GBA, while there is a shift towards environmental governance, attention on renewable and low-carbon energy remains weak. We present three key recommendations for the cross-border energy collaboration in the GBA in the context of China’s ambitious goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2060: (1) the development of a common electricity market, (2) the development of cross-border cooperation in technological innovation, and (3) the development of a unified carbon trading market.