Profile

As former Director of the China Environmental and Energy Programme, Dr. Jimin Zhao collaborated with Oxford colleagues at ECI, the Transport Studies Unit, and the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies and Chinese colleagues at Tsinghua University, Tongji University, and the Energy Research Institute on research projects on climate change governance, low carbon city development, building energy efficiency, and the future of urban transportation.

Previously, Jimin was Project Leader for the China Energy Project at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and held a research position at the School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan. I have also worked as a research fellow or research assistant at the World Bank, Resources for the Future, and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. My previous researches aimed to craft and catalyze a set of policies and institutions to stimulate research, development, and deployment of energy technologies to address not only climate issues but also a full range of energy-related challenges of the 21st century, focusing on clean vehicles, clean coal, and renewable energy. They were undertaken through in-depth case study interviews with key actors at national and local governments and industries in China and the United States and in collaboration with China’s Ministry of Science and Technology and Chinese researchers in Chinese institutes such as China Automotive Research and Technology Center, Tongji University, Tsinghua University.

Jimin received her Ph.D. in environmental policy from Stanford University, and her M.S. in environmental planning and management and B.S. degree in Geography from Peking University. She now works as a faculty member at the University of Hong Kong.

Research Interests

Jimin’s areas of research interest include environmental policy, energy policy and technology development, international environmental governance, and sustainable transportation development, with a focus on China. Based on in-depth field research, her research investigates the factors that determine successful policy implementation, emphasizing analysis of the behavior and interaction of involved state and non-state actors at different levels. The objective of her research is catalyze and inform the design of policies and institutions that can address not only climate issues but also environmental and energy security issues. Her recent research projects focus on climate change governance, low carbon city development, building energy efficiency, and sustainable urban transportation.

Teaching

Jimin teaches a graduate course on Environmental Policy and Governance in China; lectures for Energy and Climate Modules, and an undergraduate course on Environmental Policy.

Jimin has supervised 5 masters students and co-supervised one Ph.D. student on China’s energy, climate and environment at Oxford. In her past academic positions, she helped advise Ph.D. students at Harvard and masters and Ph.D. students at Michigan on environmental policy and environmental economics.

Current Research Projects

Climate Change

• Moving to a low-carbon economy under different economic circumstances (Project Leader, April 2009-September 2011, Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Strategic Programme Fund)
• Governing Climate Change beyond the International Regime: City Actions in China (September 2008-August 2009, John Fell Fund)
• Governing Climate Change in Global Cities: A Case Study of Beijing (May 2008-April 2009, in collaboration with Beijing Academy of Environmental Sciences, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change)
• National climate change negotiations and governance in China (September 2007-)

Energy Technology Development and Sustainable Transportation

• Energy saving and carbon reduction in Chinese buildings: learning from UK experience, (China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development project, with Tsinghua University and a number of international collaborators, 2008-2010)
• Balanced Clean Development in China, to explore trade-offs and policy options related to macroeconomics, energy, and climate change (Project Leader, OIES, 2007-2010)
• Environmental legacy of the Beijing Olympics, focusing on implications for sustainable urban transportation, low-carbon economic growth, and environmental governance (TSU, 2008-2009)

Publications

• Schroeder, H., J. Li, H. Bulkeley, C. Barbier, J. Zhao, M. Columbier, S.Y. Chu and S. Ghosh, "Enabling the Transition to a Low Carbon Climate Resilient Economy in Asian Cities: Drivers, Barriers and Solutions", Transition to Low Carbon and Climate Resilient Economies in Asia: Challenges and Opportunities, edited by A. Srinivasan, F. Ling, S. Nishioka and H. Mori, Earthscan, 2009, forthcoming.
• Zhao, J. "From Bali to Copenhagen: Engaging China in a Post-2012 Climate Regime," Global Environmental Politics, accepted subject to minor revision.
• Zhao, J., "Can the Environment Survive China’s Craze for Automobiles?—Urban Transportation Challenges and Opportunities" Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, accepted subject to minor revision.
• Zhao, J. and Xia, Q. "China’s Environmental Labeling Program," The International Library of Environmental Economics and Policy, 2007.
• Zhao, J. and M. Melaina, "Transition to Hydrogen-Based Transportation in China: Lessons Learned from Alternative Fuel Vehicles in the United States and China," Energy Policy, Vol.34, No.11, July 2006, 1299-1309.
• Zhao, J. "Whither the Car? China’s Automobile Industry and Cleaner Vehicle Technology," Development and Change, Vol.37, No.1, 2006. Also published as a chapter in Peter Ho and Eduard. B. Vermeer (Eds.), China’s Limits to Growth: Greening State and Society, Boston: Blackwell Publishing, 2006.
• Zhao, J., "Implementing International Environmental Treaties in Developing Countries: China’s Compliance with the Montreal Protocol," Global Environmental Politics, Vol.5, No. 1, 2005.
• Ban, L. Belzowski, B., Gumbrich, S., and Zhao, J., Inside China: The Chinese view their automotive future, IBM: IBM Institute for Business Value. 2005.
• Zhao, J. and L. Ortolano, "The Chinese Government’s Role in Implementing Multilateral Environmental Agreements: the Case of the Montreal Protocol," The China Quarterly. September 2003.
• Zhao, J, and K. Gallagher, "Clean Vehicle Development in China," The Sinosphere Journal, Spring 2003.
• Gallagher, K. and Zhao J., "U.S. Policies to Promote Cleaner Vehicles," Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, working paper. 2003
• Zhao, J. "Multilateral Fund and China’s Compliance with the Montreal Protocol," The Journal of Environment and Development, December, 2002.
• Klaassen, G., McDonald, A., and Zhao, J., "The Future of Gas Infrastructures in Eurasia," Energy Policy. 29 (5), 2001.
• Zhao, J., "Reform of China’s Energy Institutions and Policies: Historical Evolution and Current Challenges," Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, working paper, 2001.
• Zhao, J. Diffusion,Costs and Learning in Developing International Gas Transmission Lines, IR-00-05. IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria, 2000.
• Zhao, J. and Ortolano. L "Implementing the Montreal Protocol in China: Use of Cleaner Technology in Two Industrial Sectors." Environmental Impact Assessment Review, September/November 1999.
• Zhao, J. and Xia, Q. "China’s Environmental Labeling Program." Environmental Impact Assessment Review, September/November 1999.
• Zhao, J. and Ortolano, L. "China’s Compliance with the Montreal Protocol." Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Environmental Compliance and Enforcement. Volume 2. Monterey, California. November 1998.

Papers

• Zhao, J., "Technological Learning under Foreign Direct Investment: A Case Study of the Chinese Automotive Industry." The China Quarterly (under revision).
• Zhao, J. Can the Green Olympics Help Beijing Create a More Sustainable Transport System? Energy Policy (in review).
• Zhao, J., Governing Climate Change in Beijing, Energy Policy, (in review).
• Heike Schroeder, Harriet Bulkeley, Jimin Zhao, Shu Yi Chu and Shibani Ghosh, 2008, What are the key drivers and barriers for Asian cities in transitioning to a low-carbon and climate-resilient society? IGES (Institute for Global Environmental Strategies) Special Paper Competition, Low-Cabon, Climate-Resilient Society: Issues and Challenges for Asia.
• Bulkeley, H., Schroeder, H., Janda, K., Zhao, J., Armstrong, A., Chu, Shu Yi, and Ghosh, S. (2009) Cities and Climate Change: The role of institutions, governance and urban planning. Report prepared for the World Bank Urban Symposium on Climate Change
• Zhao, J., Climate Governance and Policy in China: Multi-Level State Centric Governance System, soon to be submitted to Global Environmental Change.