Lin Zhang

Lin Zhang

An Energy Economist

Short Bio

Prof. Dr. Lin Zhang is a Full Professor at City University of Hong Kong, and an Associate Director for the Institute of Global Governance and Innovation for a Shared Future. He leads the Laboratory for Energy Economics and Environmental Management and collaborates with several esteemed institutions. His primary research focuses on energy and sustainability economics. In his ultimate pursuit of regional sustainable development, his work utilizes economic and interdisciplinary methods to seek policy solutions to energy and environmental sustainability from interdisciplinary lenses. Dr. Zhang received bachelor’s degrees from Peking University and a PhD in economics from ETH Zurich. Dr. Zhang has been elected as a council member of the International Association for Energy Economics (IAEE), and serves as the editor of The Energy Journal. Prof. Zhang has been listed in “Top Scholar in Social Sciences (top 0.5%)” by ScholarGPS, “Top 2% Scientists” by Stanford University, “Top 5% Economists (Last 10 years publications) by RePEc (Research Papers in Economics), “Top 30,000 Social Scientists” (all disciplines) by SSRN (Social Science Research Network). He has also won many awards for his excellent research from regional and international professional organizations. In 2024, Prof. Zhang was selected as one of the 18 SUSI Scholars globally sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. Prof. Zhang recently authored a book titled “Sustainability Economics”, published by Springer Nature.

张林，本科毕业于北京大学，博士毕业于苏黎世联邦理工学院（经济学博士）。香港城市大学教授，全球治理与创新研究院副院长，博士生导师。国际能源经济学会（IAEE）理事、美国国务院经济与可持续发展SUSI访问学者、香港旅游局国际会议大使、香港清洁能源研究院研究员、The Energy Journal主编、Energy Policy特邀执行主编、NSFC/RGC地区联合项目首席专家。张林博士长期聚焦于气候变化、能源转型、环境治理与经济可持续发展的理论与量化研究；在PNAS等国内外顶级学术期刊发表论文80余篇；成果获得联合国、欧盟、OECD等组织机构的政策报告引用。入选ScholarGPS全球前0.5%顶尖社科学者、斯坦福全球前2%顶尖科学家等榜单。张林教授最新著作《可持续发展经济学》由施普林格·自然 (Springer Nature)出版集团出版。

Research Interests

  • Subjects covered in my work:
    • Energy & Sustainability Economics (with particular interests in energy transition and carbon neutrality)
    • Green Business & Sustainable Governance (with particular interests in corporate strategy for sustainability and resource use)
    • Sustainable Economic Development (with particular interests in green growth and growth under climate Risks)
  • Methods used in my work:
    • Macro: Growth Theory, CGE, Data Envelopment Analysis
    • Micro: Applied Econometrics, Stochastic Frontier Analysis, Machine Learning

Publication List

Please check my complete publication record through my Personal Webpage or CityU Scholar

  • Ten Representative peer-reviewed Articles:
    • Li, C., Li, M., Zhang, L., Li, Q., Zheng, H., & Feldman, M. W. (2025): Energy–poverty–inequality SDGs: A large-scale household analysis and forecasting in China. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), 122(1), Article e2408167121. Link
    • Subedi, Mukti Nath, Shuddhasattwa Rafiq, and Lin Zhang (2025): Impact of civil conflict on household energy choices: Implications for the clean energy transition. World Development 189 (2025): 106922. Link
    • Wei Jin, Frederick van der Ploeg, and Lin Zhang (2024): How Clean Capital Slows Down Disinvestment of Carbon-Intensive Capital in the Low-Carbon Transition. Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, 162, 104857. Link
    • Xiaojun Yu, Qiang Li, Lin Zhang (2024): Major government customer and corporate environmental responsibility: Evidence from China. Journal of Business Research, 183, 114853. Link
    • Yao An and Lin Zhang (2023): The Thirst for Power: The Impacts of Water Availability on Electricity Generation in China. The Energy Journal, 44(2), 205-240. Link
    • Yao Yao, Xue Li, Russell Smyth, Lin Zhang (2022): Air pollution and political trust in local government: Evidence from China. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 115, 102724. Link
    • Christos Karydas and Lin Zhang (2019): Green tax reform, endogenous innovation and the growth dividend. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 97, 158-181. Link
    • Lucas Bretschger, Filippo Lechthaler, Sebastian Rausch, Lin Zhang (2017): Knowledge diffusion, endogenous growth and the costs of global climate policy. European Economic Review, 93, 47-72. Link
    • Lin Zhang (2017): Correcting the uneven burden sharing of emission reduction across provinces in China. Energy Economics, 64, 335-345. Link
    • Massimo Filippini and Lin Zhang (2016): Estimation of the energy efficiency in Chinese provinces. Energy Efficiency, 9(6), 1315-1328. Link
  • Non-peer-reviewed Media Articles:
    • Q. Li and L. Zhang (2024): The Impact of AI on the Energy Sector in China. IAEE Energy Forum, 2nd Quarter 2024, p5-7. Link
    • L. Zhang (2022): Hong Kong’s Fight for Climate Change: Facts, Challenges, and Opportunities. IAEE Energy Forum, 3rd Quarter 2022, p8-9. Link
    • J. Shang and L. Zhang (2019): In the fight against climate change, hydrogen could be the answer to Hong Kong’s quest for greener fuel. South China Morning Post, 2019-09-24. Link
    • L. Zhang (2019): Win the trade war and lose the world? Why US and China need to focus on war against climate change. South China Morning Post, 2019-01-03. Link
  • 中文代表作：
    • 著作：〔瑞士〕卢卡斯·布雷斯彻　著 /张林 等 译：绿化经济与构建可持续社会———向可持续发展转型的挑战与应变。北京大学出版社，ISBN 978-7-301-30395-5. Link
    • 论文： 靳玮，王弟海，张林：《碳中和背景下的中国经济低碳转型：特征事实与机制分析》，经济研究， 12，87-103，2022. Link
    • 论文： 张林，安瑶，喻筱珺，方琳：《城市工业环境治理和企业效益：源头预防和末端治理的宏微观影响》，管理评论，35（8），31-42，2024. Link
  • Media Interviews/Talks/Podcasts:
    • Is your cooking stove a climate problem? - CGTN‘s “Climate Watch” Podcast. Link
    • The development of China’s green finance. - IAEE Podcast. Link
    • COVID-19 is changing the emission trajectories in China and at the global level. - IAEE Podcast. Link
    • Climate Risks and Corporate Carbon Strategies. - IAEE Webinar. Link
    • Climate Policy and Governance of Carbon Neutrality. - IAEE Webinar. Link
    • The Thirst for Power: the Nexus on Climate Change, Water Scarcity, and Electricity Outage. - IAEE Webinar. Link
    • Reforming China’s Electricity Sector: The Potential Gains and Pitfalls. - IAEE Webinar. Link
    • Energy Transition in China: Technology, Policy, and Society. - IAEE Webinar. Link
    • Moving Green: Opportunities and Challenges of China’s Recovery Plan. - IAEE Webinar. Link

Awards

  • 2024 SUSI Scholar on Economics and Sustainable Development by the U.S. Department of State (one of the 18 Global Leaders)
  • 2024 Top 2% most highly cited scientists by Stanford University
  • 2024 Top Scholar (top 0.5% in Social Sciences and Overall) by ScholarGPS
  • 2024 Excellent Young Researcher Award of the School of Energy and Environment
  • 2024 Best Paper Award for the paper titled “Visible hands: High temperatures, power rationing, and firm performances” by the International Conference on Climate and Energy Finance
  • 2023 Outstanding paper award for the paper titled “High carbon path dependence, low carbon expectation, and green transition of technological paradigm” by China Society of Industrial Economics
  • 2022 Honorable Mention Award for the CPSG Inaugural Best Policy Research Article Award
  • 2021 Outstanding Paper Award at Global Paper Competition on Sustainable Paths Toward Carbon Neutrality
  • 2021 Certificate of Merit for papers selected by The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE)
  • 2018 Outstanding reviewer for the Journal of Environmental Management
  • 2017 Outstanding reviewer for Economic Modelling
  • 2015 Best doctoral thesis by Swiss Association of Energy Economics Ref
  • 2014 Fellow of the UBS International Center of Economics in Society
  • 2011 Young economist nominated by OFID (The OPEC Fund for International Development) for the 4th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting on Economic Sciences

个人公众号（欢迎关注）

wechat qrcode