Environmental Change & Sustainability

3 days ago
2 min read

Updated: 5 hours ago

This theme tackles the most pressing human–environment challenges of the 21st century: global climate change, carbon-neutrality pathways, urban/rural landscape transformation, and the sustainability of the Earth’s water, air, carbon, and food systems. Combining field observation, laboratory experiments, model simulations, remote sensing, and AI-driven analytics, we translate research into feasible, cost-effective pathways for environmental protection.

Research Strategic Areas

Climate Change & Carbon Neutrality
Urban & Rural Landscapes
Sustainability

Key Research Questions

What are Hong Kong’s/China’s cost-effective decarbonisation pathways for the power sector?
How do inland waters contribute to global greenhouse-gas budgets in IPCC assessments?
How will land–climate feedbacks respond to accelerating climate change?
How can urban green-blue infrastructure be designed for biodiversity and human wellbeing?

Relevant Faculty Members & their Areas of Expertise

Professor Wendy Y CHEN	Specialising in research and governance of urban green-blue spaces Urban forestry Ecological economics Environmental economics
Professor Peng GONG	Remote Sensing Image Processing, Analysis and Application GIS Theory, Techniques and Application Global Environmental Change Studies and Human Health
Professor Nicky Y F LAM	Climate change and air quality Air quality modelling Ozone air pollution Emission inventory development Microsensor development
Professor Jinbao LI	Climate Change Paleo Climate Drought Dendrochronology Forest Ecology
Professor Junran Jimmy LI	Aeolian geomorphology and ecosystem change in dryland systems Biogeochemistry of atmospheric dust and its human health impacts GIS, spatial statistics, and stochastic modeling
Professor Laibao LIU	Climate Change and Carbon Neutrality Land Carbon Cycle Land-Climate Interaction Renewable Energy Net-zero Energy System Transition Carbon-Climate-Energy Nexus
Professor Liqing PENG	Land use and carbon accounting Sustainable agriculture Forest carbon dynamics and conservation Evapotranspiration and drought monitoring
Professor Lishan RAN	Riverine Carbon Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions Soil Erosion and Carbon Export Chemical Weathering and CO2 consumption Sediment Transport and River Channel Change
Professor Zhenci XU	Sustainable Development Goals Food-energy-water-carbon nexus Footprint China development Human environment interactions Ecology Ecosystem service