Hao Zhang is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Law, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, where he currently serves as the Deputy Director of the LLM Programme (Energy and Environmental Law). Dr Zhang undertook his PhD at Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne in Australia.

Dr Zhang teaches Chinese law and energy law. He is the recipient of the CUHK Vice-Chancellor’s Exemplary Teaching Award 2020. His research is in the areas of energy and climate law, focusing on the legal and regulatory issues surrounding energy decarbonisation and green economic transition. As part of the UK-China Graduate Work Experience Programme, a collaborative programme jointly sponsored by the UK and Chinese Governments, he interned with a cross-party parliamentary organisation in the UK committed to enhancing the debate on renewable and sustainable energy policymaking. His recent work includes investigating the carbon pricing mechanism and its interaction with the electricity market regulation, renewable energy law, regulations on green financing, and law and energy market reform. He has published widely on these issues in law, energy and environmental studies journals, such as Energy Policy, Journal of Energy and Natural Resources Law, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, and Journal of World Energy Law and Business. His forthcoming monograph titled ‘In Pursuit of Carbon Neutrality: Energy Law and Regulation in China’ will be published by Cambridge University Press.

Dr Zhang has served as an expert and consultant to international organisations, government agencies, and non-government organisations, such as the Energy Charter Secretariat, the German Environment Agency and Children’s Investment Fund Foundation. He has recently been appointed as a member of the Academic Advisory Group, Section on Energy, Environment, Natural Resources and Infrastructure Law (SEERIL) of the International Bar Association. He is the associate editor of the journal Climate Law.

• Climate Change Law in China in Global Context (Routledge, 2020) (with Xiangbai He and Alexander Zahar).
• 欧盟为保护生态动刑：欧盟各国环境刑事执法报告 [Criminal Enforcement of Environmental Law in the European Union], 中央编译出版社 [China Central Compilation and Translation Press], 2009 (with XU Ping and HE Maoqiao) (in Chinese)

• Climate Neutrality in the EU and China: An Analysis of the Stringency of Targets and the Adaptiveness of the Relevant Legal Frameworks (2022) Review of European, Comparative & International Environmental Law (with Haomiao Du) (advance article published online)
• Stranded between Political Imperative and Regulatory Uncertainty: China’s Move Towards Natural Gas Pricing Reform (2022) Journal of Energy & Natural Resources Law (with Yuanyuan Zhang) (advance article published online)
• Legal Enforcement of the National Emissions Trading Scheme and the Environmental Protection Tax in China: Heavy Hand or Light Touch? (2022) 10(2) Chinese Journal of Comparative Law 246-273 (with Steven Geroe)
• China’s Ownership Policies in the Coal Sector: Effectiveness of Capacity Regulation and Prospect for Climate Change Mitigation (2022) 40(2) Journal of Energy & Natural Resources Law 251-274
• Exploring Energy Resilience in China’s Energy Law in the Carbon Neutrality Era (2022) 30(1) Asia Pacific Law Review 167-187
• China’s Natural Gas Sector Regulation in the Context of Pipeline Restructuring: Towards Independent Gas Pipeline Operation? (2021) 14(6) Journal of World Energy Law & Business 447-463
• Regulations for Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage: Comparative Analysis of Development in Europe, China and the Middle East (2021) 173 Resources, Conservation and Recycling 105722
• The Access Regime of Renewable Energy to the Grid Network in China: a Legal Analysis (2021) 8 Current Sustainable/Renewable Energy Reports 50-56
• Regulating Green Bond in China: Definition Divergence and Implications for Policy Making (2020) 10(2) Journal of Sustainable Finance and Investment 141-156
• Prioritizing Access of Renewable Energy to the Grid in China: Regulatory Mechanisms and Challenges for Implementation (2019) 3(2) Chinese Journal of Environmental Law 167-202
• Implementing Climate-Finance Provisions under the Paris Agreement (2019) 9(1-2) Climate Law 21-39
• Fixing the Emissions Trading Scheme: Carbon Price Stability in the EU and China (2019) 25(3) European Law Journal 333-347 (with Anatole Boute)
• Antinomic Policy Making under the Fragmented Authoritarianism: Regulating China’s Electricity Sector through the Energy-Climate-Environment Dimension (2019) 128 Energy Policy 162-169
• The Carbon Externality of Investments Financed by China’s Development Banks: The Case of Energy Project Investments in Central Asia (2019) 20(2-3) Journal of World Trade and Investment 335-354
• Adjudicating Environmental Tort Cases in China: Burden of Proof, Causation and Insights from 513 Court Decisions (2018) 21(2) Asia-Pacific Journal of Environmental Law 171-189 (with Fan Yang and Ting Zhang)
• The Role of the Market and Traditional Regulation to Decarbonise China’s Energy Supply (2018) 30(2) Journal of Environmental Law 261-284 (with Anatole Boute)
• Designing Regulation for China’s Emission-Trading Pilot Programs Through Trial and Error: An Effective Approach? (2017) 7(2-3) Climate Law 125-149 (with Ping Xu)
• Lessons from Regulating Carbon Offset Markets (2015) 4(1) Transnational Environmental Law 69-100 (with Christopher Arup)
• Beyond the CDM: Regulating China’s Domestic Offset Scheme (2015) 45(1) Environmental Law Reporter 10049-10063 (with Christopher Arup)
• 碳排放权配额分配的国际经验及启示 (The International Experiences and Lessons of Carbon Emission Permit Allocation Method) (2013) 23(12) 中国人口资源与环境 (Journal of China Population, Resources and Environment) 10-15 (with XUAN Xiaowei) (in Chinese)
• Emissions Trading and China: Learning by Doing and Implications for Policy Making (2013) 28(7) Australian Environment Review 690-694
• Design Elements of Emissions Trading Regulation in China’s Pilot Programs: Regulatory Challenges and Prospects (2013) 30(4) Environmental and Planning Law Journal 342-356
• Designing the Regulatory Framework of an Emissions Trading Program in China: Lessons from Tianjin (2012) 4 Carbon & Climate Law Review 329-341
• China’s Energy Conservation and Carbon Emissions Reduction System: Development and Status Quo of the Regulatory and Institutional Framework (2012) 42(3) Environmental Law Reporter 10260-10279
• Low Carbon Strategy in China: The Role of Renewable Energy Law in Advancing Renewable Energy (2011) 2 Renewable Energy Law and Policy Review 135-148
• Environmental Criminal Law in China: A Critical Analysis (2011) 41(1) Environmental Law Reporter 10024-10042 (with Michael Faure)
• 从危害行为探索环境刑事立法的模式 (Analysis on the Environmental Criminal Law Legislation based on Environmental Endangerments) (2010) 28(2) 政法论坛 (Journal of China University of Political Science and Law) 149-157 (with XU Ping) (in Chinese)

• China’s Legal Framework for Emissions Trading and other Market Initiatives. in Xiangbai He, Hao Zhang and Alexander Zahar (eds), Climate Change Law in China in Global Context (Routledge, 2020) 84-102
• Regulation of Sources and Sinks in China’s Domestic Offset Scheme. in Xiangbai He, Hao Zhang and Alexander Zahar (eds), Climate Change Law in China in Global Context (Routledge, 2020) 103-117
• The Monitoring, Reporting and Verification of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in China: A Legal Analysis. in Xiangbai He, Hao Zhang and Alexander Zahar (eds), Climate Change Law in China in Global Context (Routledge, 2020) 118-148 (with Alexander Zahar)
• Designing and Implementing an Emissions Trading Market in China: The Case of Tianjin. in Michael Faure and Guangdong Xu (eds), Economics and Regulation in China (Routledge, 2013) 240-268
• Towards a more Effective Environmental Criminal Law in China. in Paul Martin, Li Zhiping, Qin Tianbao, Anel Du Plessis and Yves Le Bouthillier (eds), Environmental Governance and Sustainability, IUCN Academy of Environmental Law series (Edward Elgar, 2012) 104-134 (with Michael Faure)

• China’s Pilot Emission Trading Systems and Electricity Markets (Hubei and Shenzhen). Influence of Market Structures and Market Regulations on the Carbon Market. Case Study Report (German Environment Agency, June 2021) (with Anatole Boute and William Acworth)
• Regulating Green Bonds in the People’s Republic of China: Definitional Divergence and Implications for Policy Making (Asian Development Bank Institute Working Paper, 2020).
• Chinese Perspectives on the Modernisation of the Energy Charter Treaty (Energy Charter Secretariat, 2018) (with Kaho Yu).

• Principal Investigator, Early Career Scheme 2021-22, Legal and Regulatory Pathway of Renewable Energy Integration in China: Comparative and Empirical Perspectives, University Grants Committee of Hong Kong, 01/01/2022-31/12/2023
• Principal Investigator, CUHK Direct Grant for Research 2020/21, Developing Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage Projects in China: Regulatory Challenges and Lessons from other Jurisdictions, CUHK Research Committee, 01/05/2021-30/04/2022
• Principal Investigator, CUHK Direct Grant for Research 2018/19, Decarbonising China’s Energy Supply: Regulatory Pluralism and Instrument Interaction, CUHK Research Committee, 30/06/2019-29/12/2020

• Resilience and Energy Law in China in an Era of Energy Decarbonisation. Academic Advisory Group Mid-term Meeting, Section on Energy, Environment, Natural Resources and Infrastructure Law (SEERIL), International Bar Association, 20/05/2021 (via Zoom)
• Current Challenges of Renewable Energy: Integration in China. Webinar series organised by Environmental Change Institute of the University of Oxford, 19/08/2020 (via Zoom)
• Legal Challenges to the Development of Emissions Trading Scheme in China: Insights from the Pilot Programs. Evaluation of Environmental Effectiveness and Economics Efficiency of Incentive Based Instruments for Pollution Control in China and Australia, organised by University of Sydney and The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Sydney, Australia, 10/12/2019
• Regulating Green Bond in China: Definition Divergence and Implications for Policy Making. Green Infrastructure and Finance Development in Asia: Investment, Policies and Economic Impacts, organised by Asian Development Bank Institute, Tokyo, Japan, 14-15/11/2019
• Monitoring and Reporting Greenhouse Gas Emissions in China: A Legal Analysis. IUCN Academy of Environmental Law Colloquium 2019, organised by IUCN Academy of Environmental Law, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 5-9/08/2019 (with Alexander Zahar)
• International Finance and Other Forms of Material Support under the Paris Agreement. APCEL Workshop on the Implementation Rules For the Paris Agreement, organised by the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 24-25/01/2019
• Fixing the Emissions Trading Scheme: Carbon Price Stability in the EU and China. The Tenth Annual Meeting of the Society for Environmental Law & Economics, organised by University of Notre Dame School of Law, Chicago, United States of America, 15-16/06/2018 (with Anatole Boute)
• Carbon Externality of China’s Foreign Direct Investment in the Energy Sector. Regulation of Energy Investment along the Belt and Road Initiative, organised by The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, 25-27/02/2017