Lin Zhang
An Energy & Sustainability Economist
Selected Publications on Energy Economics
My current research is primarily in the area of energy economics with a focus on energy policies that contribute to the sustainable development of the society. The main objectives of my research are two folds: 1) investigation of effectiveness (efficiency and equity) of energy policies under implementation or discussion, which will lead to 2) the development of sustainable energy policies to tackle greenhouse gases emissions and global climate change. A success of the research will not only be appreciated in scientific communities, but also bring us closer to the realisation of a greener society.
This paper examines the effects of knowledge diffusion on growth and the costs of climate policy. Knowledge diffusion depends on accessibility and absorptive capacity which we estimate econometrically using patent and citation data. Knowledge diffusion leads to a “greening” of economies boosting productivity of “clean” carbon-extensive sectors.
Economic development under restricted resource availability has become a complex challenge. To maintain a sustainable electricity supply and mitigate the impact of water shortage on economic development, it is therefore important to understand how utility firms respond to the change in water availability and unpacks the underlying mechanisms of power outage. Water scarcity slows down the transition towards renewable energy.
Avoiding dirty asset stranding matters for protecting wealth and employment in the economies that are rich in pollution-intensive fossil energy and resource assets. This paper analyses, empirically and theoretically, the mechanism for energy transition without dirty capital stranding.
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This paper proposes an allocation principle based on the efficiency levels. The efficiency levels are estimated by employing a stochastic frontier analysis approach and the links between energy intensity and efficiency are constructed. Efficiency-based allocation can distribute reduction burdens among regions smoothly compared to the intensity-based allocation.
There is widespread concern that a stringent international climate agreement will not be reached because it would imply too high costs for fast growing economies. We highlight that lower economic growth, faster energy technology development, and stronger induced innovation reduce welfare losses significantly. Increased urbanization raises the policy costs because urban households consume more energy and energy intensive goods.
This article combines the stochastic frontier method with the panel Markov-switching regression to model energy efficiency transitions. The estimated energy efficiency scores show significant regional and provincial heterogeneity. The unsustainable nature of the high energy-efficient state suggests that in China, there are weak energy efficiency efforts and energy efficiency policies lack robustness.