Prof. Lin ZHANG
Prof. Zhang studied at Peking University with double bachelor’s degrees in mechanical engineering and economics. He then moved to Switzerland where he earned his master’s degree in management and Ph.D. in economics from ETH Zurich. He joined CityUHK in 2016 and promoted to associate professor (with tenure) in 2022 and full professor in 2025.
He now serves as the editor for The Energy Journal (Sage) and the associate editor for Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (Springer Nature). Currently, he is also the guest editor for Energy Policy (Elsevier, IF=9.3), International Review of Financial Analysis (Elsevier, IF=7.5). He is a council member of the International Association for Energy Economics (IAEE) and the regional representative of Asia-Oceania leaders in energy economics. Since 2023, he has been the Hong Kong Convention Ambassador appointed by the Hong Kong Tourism Board.
His primary research focuses on energy, climate change, sustainability economics, and policy analysis. In his ultimate pursuit of regional sustainable development, his work combines multiple tools, including economic theory, econometrics, computable general equilibrium modelling, applied machine learning techniques, and integrated interdisciplinary assessment methods to seek policy solutions to sustainability. Prof. Zhang has been listed in “Top 2% Scientists” by Stanford University. 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 on economics and sustainable development globally by the U.S. Department of State. Prof. Zhang’s research contributes to the following SDG(s):
Welcome to visit his Google-Scholar profile.
Research Interests
- Economic Impacts of Energy & Climate Policy
- Policy for Sustainable Economic Growth under Changes
- Green and Sustainable Business
- Human-Environment Interactions and Sustainability
- Policy and Governance of Energy Transition
Position(s) available
Please visit the webpage of Prof. Zhang’s lab for more information:
https://www.cityu.edu.hk/see_eeem/index.html
Recent Publications
A: 5 Representative Papers on Economics Journals
- 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. (Available online)
- 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 (Available online)
- Christos Karydas and Lin Zhang (2019): Green tax reform, endogenous innovation and the growth dividend. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 97, 158-181. (Available online)
- Lin Zhang (2017): Correcting the uneven burden sharing of emission reduction across provinces in China. Energy Economics, 64, 335-345. (Available online)
- Lucas Bretschger, Filippo Lechthaler, Sebastian Rausch and Lin Zhang (2017): Knowledge diffusion, endogenous growth and the costs of global climate policy. European Economic Review, 93, 47-72. (Available online)
B: 5 Representative Papers on Interdisciplinary Journals
- Cong Li, Minglai Li, Lin Zhang, Qiang Li, Hua Zheng, Marcus W. Feldman (2025): Energy-poverty-inequality SDGs: A large-scale household analysis and forecasting in China. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), 122(1), e2408167121. (Available online)
- Mukti Subedi; Shuddhasattwa Rafiq; Lin Zhang (2025): Impact of civil conflict on household energy choices: Implications for the clean energy transition. World Development, 189, 106922. (Available online)
- Xiaojun Yu, Qiang Li, and Lin Zhang (2024): Major government customer and corporate environmental responsibility: Evidence from China. Journal of Business Research, 183, 114853. (Available online)
- Ziqiao Zhou, et al. (2024): Equity-Based Carbon Neutral Plan Induces Cross-Regional Coal Leakage and Industrial Relocation”. iScience, 27(3), 109079. (Available online)
- Yao An, Ning Liu, Lin Zhang, Huanhuan Zheng (2022): Adapting to Climate Risks through Cross-Border Investments: Industrial Vulnerability and Smart City Resilience. Climatic Change, 174, 10. (Available online)
C: Full list of publication
Please check HERE or Google Scholar for the full list of Prof. Zhang’s publications.
| Office: | YEUNG-G5445 |
|---|---|
| Phone: | +(852)-3442-4012 |
| Fax: | +(852)-3442-0688 |
| Email: | l.zhang@cityu.edu.hk |
| Web: | https://lzhanghk.wixsite.com/econ |
- Energy & Sustainability Economics
- Policy for Sustainable Resource Use
- Green Business & Finance
- Economic Development under Climate Risks