I am an interdisciplinary researcher, holding a bachelor’s degree in business administration, and master degrees in environmental management and human geography. I coordinated environmental education projects for the Hong Kong Government, and received my PhD from the Australian National University in 2011. After completing my doctoral study and a research position in Vienna, Austria, I was appointed as Lecturer in Environmental Economics at Griffith University, Australia and later Assistant Professor in Environmental Economics and Human Geography at the University of Hong Kong. Before moving to the UK in 2024, I spent five years in New Zealand as a Senior Lecturer in Climate Change at Victoria University of Wellington.
I held a leadership position in learning and teaching as Programme Director of Climate Change Science and Policy at Victoria University of Wellington. I was a member of the Executive Committee of the Hong Kong Geographical Association (2018 – 2019) and the Australia and New Zealand Society for Ecological Economics (2013 – 2014). I was an Adjunct Professor at the Guangzhou University, China from 2018 to 2021, a Visiting Associate Professor at the Education University of Hong Kong in 2023, and Visiting Professor at Diponegoro University, Indonesia in 2025. From 2019 to 2023, I was Associate Editor of Geographical Research (Wiley), the journal of the Institute of Australian Geographers.
Currently, I am a Panel Member for the Research Foundation Flanders (Belgium) under the Science and Technology of Constructions and the Built Environment panel (W&T9). I am Editor of Asia Pacific Viewpoint (Wiley) and an editorial board member of Environmental Values (White Horse Press) and Population and Environment (Springer). I have been appointed Honorary Professor by the Centre for Civil Society and Governance, the University of Hong Kong, and Adjunct Professor by the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, the Chinese University of Hong Kong. I am among the World’s top 2% scholars (according to the Stanford/Elsevier List).
At York St John University, he plays a leadership role as Group Leader of the Global Sustainability Research Programme, and the Unit of Assessment (UoA) Lead of Business Studies and Management (UoA17) for the University’s submissions to upcoming Research Excellence Framework (REF) in the UK.
I am a human geographer with a strong interest in ecological economics and climate policy. Business resilience, sustainability transition, and climate policy are the main themes of my current research. My recent work examines the processes of economic transformation and small business adaptation to climate change. Among the projects that I have led include an extensive field survey of over 500 small and micro businesses to understand their strategies for coping with flooding and cyclones. My earlier research covered non-market valuation methods, carbon trading and carbon finance, and urban green infrastructure.
Since 2008, I have published over 100 peer-reviewed articles in internationally recognized journals, mostly as team leader and first author. My publications are highly cited, comparing to other researchers at the same career stage. In February 2026, my citations have reached 7,000, with an h-index of 44. I am lead author of ‘China’s Climate Policy: Transition, Governance, and Market’ (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2025)
My research and scholarship achievements are evidenced by awards, fellowships, and other prestigious opportunities. I was selected as a World Social Science Fellow by the International Social Science Council in 2014, and awarded the Pete Hay Environmental Politics Prize in 2015. In 2016, I delivered a plenary speech at the 3rd International Conference on Regional Development held in Indonesia. In 2017 and 2018, I was appointed a Senior Research Fellow by the Earth System Governance Project, and awarded an Endeavour Research Fellowship by Australia’s Department of Education and Training, respectively. I was also awarded the Universitas 21 Fellowship in 2017.
I have a track record of receiving funding for collaborative research designed to create community or policy impact and was successful in winning a number of competitive external research grants. Between 2017 and 2019, I led a project about carbon emissions trading fully funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. In Australia, I was awarded two external grants by the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia for building international research collaborations with the Chinese Academy of the Social Sciences. The Regional Studies Association (UK) funded my further research built upon these two Australian projects. In Hong Kong, I led a team of researchers to conduct comprehensive research into the 20-year programme and governance success of the government-run Environment and Conservation Fund. I was the PI of an international collaborative project funded by the Japan-based Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research.
I also participated in several other successful bids as a Co-Investigator, including a collaborative project about business adaptation to climate change funded by the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility (Australia). In Hong Kong, I was a theme leader of a large multidisciplinary collaborative project about natural hazards education funded by the University Grants Committee. In 2021, I joined a team of Australian and Indonesian researchers to study a climate change adaptation innovation, funded by the ANU Indonesian Project. In New Zealand, I received funding from two Crown Research Institutes to conduct research into climate change and community resilience, and from the Centres of Asia-Pacific Excellence for building networks between Chinese and New Zealand scholars and activists. I am an active Co-Investigator of two large-scale, multi-country community-based research projects led by Hong Kong Baptist University and funded by Hong Kong’s Research Grant Council.
I am frequently invited to comment and present publicly on climate policy issues, especially those about China. I have written 9 media articles for The Conversation since 2014 and was interviewed by CNN. I was interviewed by Voice of America and Radio France Internationale and asked to comment on China’s approach for carbon emission reduction. I have written full opinion pieces for New Zealand’s Newsroom and Australia’s East Asia Forum. I contributed a technical report for the Global Assessment Report (GAR) on Disaster Risk Reduction of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction,
In 2021, I was invited to speak at the Fabian Society and the United Nations Association of New Zealand, respectively. I am invited to speak - three times a year and in both 2022 and 2023 - at the ‘China Capable Masterclass’, a public sector programme organized for government officials across all agencies that engage China.
My work has created an impact on practice. In 2016, I advised a local government on environmental management issues by leading an externally funded team to conduct a programme review for the Environment and Conservation Fund. I participated as a theme leader for a large capacity development project funded by Hong Kong Government’s Education Bureau. I was the PI of a capacity development project funded by the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research. In this project, we built partnerships with local governments in Indonesia and working with environmental activists in Myanmar, both of which led to impact-relevant initiatives aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals. Recently, my colleagues and I received funding from the British Academy to build capacity in Sub-Saharan Africa for climate change adaptation research and science communication.
