Prof. Zhenyu GAO

Award Citation

Climate change is a major challenge worldwide. The fight against climate change requires collective efforts by governments, individuals, institutions, and corporations. With his collaborators, Prof. Gao plans to conduct a comprehensive study to understand the beliefs and actions of four basic units of the economy, including governments, individuals, institutions, and corporations, in response to climate change. They will investigate the interactions between these economic units in terms of beliefs and actions. They will explore whether and how attitudes and behaviors align across different groups.

The research will focus on China. China produces the highest emissions of greenhouse gas around the world (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change). Therefore, China has a crucial role in mitigating the threat from a climate emergency. In response to climate change, the Chinese government has vowed to hit CO2 emissions peak before 2030 and become carbon neutral before 2060. This project will enhance the research team’s understanding of the status quo of climate issues in China. Doing so will help the team address key issues of climate challenge and provide valuable suggestions for future steps that should be taken.

Prof. Gao’s research has broad implications and lies at the intersection of different areas. His research covers climate change, behavioral finance, household finance, and the Chinese economy, and has been published in the leading finance and economics journals.

In recognition of his research performance and impact, he has received the Research Excellence Award 2020-21 in The Chinese University of Hong Kong.