2025

• Xu, Z., Chen, X., Jiang, Q., Wu, X., Bhattarai, N., Mullen, J.,…Liu, J. (2025). Assessing global sustainability performance, imbalance, and coordination over space and time. Nature Communications, 16(1), 9186. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-64219-y

• Liu, Z., Fang, K., Xu, A., Zhang, Z., Zhu, J., Wang, H.,…Wang, J. (2025). CO2 Sequestration Technologies May Undermine China’s Sustainable Development Goals through the Climate-Energy-Air-Health Cascade. Environmental science & technology, 59(1), 23-34. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.4c09545

• Zhang, Q., Dong, J., Xu, Z., Nam, W.-H., Yang, J., Zhang, Y.,…Ge, Q. (2025). Energy shortages undermine agricultural drought resistance in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Nature food. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-025-01226-8

• Cao, Y., Kong, L., Xu, Z., Ding, Z., Wang, L., Liu, Y.,…Ouyang, Z. (2025). Exploring coordinated pathways for sustainable ecosystem and socioeconomic development: A case study of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Sustainable futures, 9, 100691. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sftr.2025.100691

• Wang, D., Xu, Z., Pascual, U., Liu, L., Ahmad, W., & Jiang, D. (2025). Exploring the role of armed conflict in progress toward Sustainable Development Goals: Global patterns, regional differences, and driving mechanisms. Geography and Sustainability, 6(6), 100355. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geosus.2025.100355

• Li, C., Zhang, W., Xu, Z., Zhang, Y., Yue, M., Wu, L.,…Xu, J. (2025). Impacts and threshold effects of total factor energy efficiency on carbon emissions and carbon neutrality across China’s cities. Humanities & social sciences communications, 12(1), 1206-1218. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05488-2

• Li, C., Chen, Z., Jiang, Q., Yue, M., Wu, L., Bao, Y.,…Xu, Z. (2025). Impacts of government attention on achieving Sustainable Development Goals: Evidence from China. Geography and Sustainability, 6(2), 100233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geosus.2024.08.011

• Li, F., Shuai, C., Xu, Z., Chen, X., Wang, C., Zhao, B.,…Xu, M. (2025). Machine learning-enhanced assessment of urban sustainable development goals progress. Cities, 158, 105718. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2025.105718

• Gong, M., Yu, K., Zhou, C., Liu, Z., Xu, Z., Xu, M., & Qu, S. (2025). SDG space: Revealing the structure and complementarities among sustainable development goals in China. Fundamental research (Beijing), 5(1), 360-369. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fmre.2024.01.005

• Zhao, R., Li, X., Ren, Q., Xu, Z., & Li, F. (2025). Spatial-temporal evolution pattern, driving mechanism and prediction of dietary sustainability in China. Journal of cleaner production, 519, 145892. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2025.145892

• Duan, X., Huang, Q., Liu, Z., Zhang, L., Li, P., He, C.,…Li, Y. (2025). The differentiated impacts of interprovincial trade on achieving nine environment-related SDGs in China. Environmental and sustainability indicators, 25, 100589. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indic.2025.100589

2024

• He, Q., Liu, D. L., Wang, B., Wang, Z., Cowie, A., Simmons, A., . . . Yu, Q. (2024). "A food-energy-water-carbon nexus framework informs region-specific optimal strategies for agricultural sustainability." Resources, Conservation and Recycling 203: 107428. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2024.107428

• Wei, S., Zhang, H., Xu, Z., Lin, G., Lin, Y., Liang, X., . . . Gong, P. (2024). "Coastal urbanization may indirectly positively impact growth of mangrove forests." Communications Earth & Environment 5(1). DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01776-y

• He, L., Bhattarai, N., Pokhrel, Y., Jia, N., Zhu, P., Ye, G., . . . Li, Z. B. (2024). "Dynamics of land cover changes and carbon emissions driven by large dams in China." Iscience.

• Zhang, Y., Chen, K., Xu, Z., Fang, K. and Ye, G. (2024). "First high-resolution marine natural capital mapping in the coastal waters of Chinese mainland." Journal of Environmental Management 349: 119596. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119596

• Du, J., Liu, Y., Xu, Z., Duan, H., Zhuang, M., Hu, Y., . . . Fu, B. (2024). "Global effects of progress towards Sustainable Development Goals on subjective well-being." Nature Sustainability 7(3): 360-367. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-024-01270-5

• Xiao, H., Bao, S., Ren, J., Xu, Z., Xue, S. and Liu, J. (2024). "Global transboundary synergies and trade-offs among Sustainable Development Goals from an integrated sustainability perspective." Nature Communications 15(1): 500. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-44679-w

• Xing, Q., Wu, C., Chen, F., Liu, J., Pradhan, P., Bryan, B. A., . . . Xu, Z. (2024). "Intranational synergies and trade-offs reveal common and differentiated priorities of sustainable development goals in China." Nature Communications 15(1): 2251. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-46491-6

• Li, C., Liu, Y., Xu, Z., Zhao, G., Bao, Y., Cai, C., . . . Wu, L. (2024). "Impacts and influencing pathways of urbanization on carbon–water-energy-food nexus across Chinese cities." Environment, Development and Sustainability. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-024-05160-w

• Li, C., Zhao, G., Koh, K. P., Xu, Z., Yue, M., Wang, W., . . . Wu, L. (2024). "Impact of China’s financial development on the sustainable development goals of the Belt and Road Initiative participating countries." Humanities and Social Sciences Communications 11(1): 294. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-02791-2

• Li, C., Chen, Z., Jiang, Q., Yue, M., Wu, L., Bao, Y., . . . Xu, Z. (2024). "Impacts of government attention on achieving Sustainable Development Goals: Evidence from China." Geography and Sustainability. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geosus.2024.08.011

• Luo, L., Zhang, J., Wang, H., Chen, M., Jiang, Q., Yang, W., . . . Guo, H. (2024). "Innovations in science, technology, engineering, and policy (iSTEP) for addressing environmental issues towards sustainable development." The Innovation Geoscience 2(3): 100087. DOI:https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-geo.2024.100087

• Yu, B., Jiang, Z., Zhao, R., Wang, A. B., Zhang, H. and Xu, Z. (2024). "Leveraging transboundary interactions for urban resilience and sustainability." The Innovation Geoscience 2(3): 100084. DOI:https://doi.org/10.59717/j.xinn-geo.2024.100084

• Huang, L., Liu, J., Sun, Z., Li, X., Ishwaran, N., Lu, S., . . . Guo, H. (2024). "Perceiving progress and imbalance of environmental SDG indicators in China using big data." International Journal of Digital Earth 17(1): 2297847. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1080/17538947.2023.2297847

• Gong, M., Yu, K., Zhou, C., Liu, Z., Xu, Z., Xu, M. and Qu, S. (2024). "SDG space: Revealing the structure and complementarities among sustainable development goals in China." Fundamental Research. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fmre.2024.01.005

• Hua, T., He, L., Jiang, Q., Chou, L.-M., Xu, Z., Yao, Y. and Ye, G. (2024). "Spatio-temporal coupling analysis and tipping points detection of China's coastal integrated land-human activity-ocean system." Science of The Total Environment 914: 169981. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.169981

• Yu, B., Xu, Z., Du, C., Xu, J., Pan, Y., Zhou, J. and Shan, Y. (2024). "Spatiotemporal evolution and drivers of carbon inequalities in urban agglomeration: An MLD-IDA inequality indicator decomposition." Ecological Indicators 162: 112004. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112004

• Cheng, Y., Xu, Z. and Liu, H. (2024). "Sustainable development in global border regions." Science 384(6702): 1309-1309. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adp0639

• Xu, Z. (2024). "Towards carbon neutrality in China: A systematic identification of China's sustainable land-use pathways across multiple scales." Sustainable Production and Consumption 44: 167-178. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2023.12.008

• Gong, M., Yu, K., Xu, Z., Xu, M. and Qu, S. (2024). "Unveiling complementarities between national sustainable development strategies through network analysis." Journal of Environmental Management 350: 119531. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119531

2023

• Cao, M., Tian, Y., Wu, K., Chen, M., Chen, Y., Hu, X., Sun, Z., Zuo, L., Lin, J., Luo, L., Zhu, R., Xu, Z., Bandrova, T., Konecny, M., Yuan, W., Guo, H., Lin, H., & Lü, G. (2023). Future land-use change and its impact on terrestrial ecosystem carbon pool evolution along the Silk Road under SDG scenarios. Science Bulletin, 68(7), 740-749. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scib.2023.03.012

• Li, F., Liu, H., Wu, S., Wang, Y., Xu, Z., Yu, P., & Yan, D. (2023). A PES framework coupling socioeconomic and ecosystem dynamics from a sustainable development perspective. Journal of Environmental Management, 329, 117043. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.117043

• He, L., Li, Z., Jia, Q., & Xu, Z. (2023). Soil microplastics pollution in agriculture. Science, 379(6632), 547-547. https://doi.org/doi:10.1126/science.adf6098

• Xiao, H., Bao, S., Ren, J., & Xu, Z. (2023). Transboundary impacts on SDG progress across Chinese cities: A spatial econometric analysis. Sustainable Cities and Society, 92, 104496. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2023.104496

• Zhao, R., Li, X., Wang, Y., Xu, Z., Xiong, M., Jia, Q., & Li, F. (2023). Assessing resilience of sustainability to climate change in China's cities. Science of The Total Environment, 898, 165568. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165568

• Wu, X., Fu, B., Wang, S., Song, S., Lusseau, D., Liu, Y., Xu, Z., & Liu, J. (2023). Bleak prospects and targeted actions for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Science Bulletin, 68(22), 2838-2848. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scib.2023.09.010

• Xiong, M., Zhao, R., Li, X., Wang, Y., Xu, Z., & Li, F. (2023). Climate resilience assessment of sustainability at national level: A case study of sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of Cleaner Production, 430, 139717. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.139717

• Jia, Q., Wang, Y., Xu, Z., & Li, F. (2023). Electricity outages delay SDGs in sub-Saharan Africa. Nature, 618(7963), 30. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-01757-9

• Gong, P., Guo, H., Chen, B., Chen, F., He, G., Liang, D., Liu, Z., Sun, Z., Wu, J., Xu, Z., Yan, D., & Zhang, H. (2023). iEarth: an interdisciplinary framework in the era of big data and AI for sustainable development. National Science Review, 10(8), nwad178. https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwad178

• Li, C., Wan, Y., Xu, Z., Fan, X., Shuai, C., Yu, X., & Tan, Y. (2023). Impacts and Pathways of the Belt and Road Initiative on Sustainable Development Goals of the Involved Countries. Sustainable Development. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2819

• Cao, M., Chen, M., Zhang, J., Pradhan, P., Guo, H., Fu, B., Li, Y., Bai, Y., Chang, L., Chen, Y., Sun, Z., Xu, Z., Zhu, R., Meadows, M. E., & Lü, G. (2023). Spatio-temporal changes in the causal interactions among Sustainable Development Goals in China. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 10(1), 450. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-01952-z

• Feng, C., Ye, G., Zeng, J., Zeng, J., Jiang, Q., He, L., Zhang, Y., & Xu, Z. (2023). Sustainably developing global blue carbon for climate change mitigation and economic benefits through international cooperation. Nature communications, 14(1), 6144. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-41870-x

• Wu, X., Fu, B., Wang, S., Liu, Y., Yao, Y., Li, Y., Xu, Z., & Liu, J. (2023). Three main dimensions reflected by national SDG performance. Innovation (Camb), 4(6), 100507. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xinn.2023.100507 

2022

• Yan, D., Wu, S., Tang, Y., Zhu, J., Zhou, S., & Xu, Z. (2022). Arable land and water footprints for food consumption in China: From the perspective of urban and rural dietary change. Science of The Total Environment, 838, 155749. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155749

• Xu, G., Dong, H., Xu, Z., & Bhattarai, N. (2022). China can reach carbon neutrality before 2050 by improving economic development quality. Energy, 243, 123087. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2021.123087

• Jiang, Y., Tian, S., Xu, Z., Gao, L., Xiao, L., Chen, S., Xu, K., Chang, J., Luo, Z., & Shi, Z. (2022). Decoupling environmental impact from economic growth to achieve Sustainable Development Goals in China. Journal of Environmental Management, 312, 114978. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.114978

• Wu, X., Fu, B., Wang, S., Song, S., Li, Y., Xu, Z., Wei, Y., & Liu, J. (2022). Decoupling of SDGs followed by re-coupling as sustainable development progresses. Nature Sustainability, 5(5), 452-459. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-022-00868-x

• Jiang, Q., Bhattarai, N., Pahlow, M., & Xu, Z. (2022). Environmental sustainability and footprints of global aquaculture. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 180, 106183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2022.106183

• Jiang, Q., Xu, Z., & Zhang, H. (2022). Global impacts of COVID-19 on sustainable ocean development. The Innovation, 3(4), 100250. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xinn.2022.100250

• Jiang, Q., Li, Z., Qu, S., Cui, Y., Zhang, H., & Xu, Z. (2022). High-resolution map of China's sustainability. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 178, 106092. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2021.106092

• Zeng, Y., Ran, L., Fang, N., Wang, Z., Xu, Z., Lu, X., Yu, Q., Wang, L., Yu, S., & Shi, Z. (2022). How to balance green and grain in marginal mountainous areas? Earth's Future, e2021EF002552. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021EF002552

• Xiao, H., Xu, Z., Ren, J., Zhou, Y., Lin, R., Bao, S., Zhang, L., Lu, S., Lee, C. K., & Liu, J. (2022). Navigating Chinese cities to achieve sustainable development goals by 2030. The Innovation, 3(5), 100288. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xinn.2022.100288

• Li, C., Lin, T., Chen, Y., Yan, Y., & Xu, Z. (2022). Nonlinear impacts of renewable energy consumption on economic growth and environmental pollution across China. Journal of Cleaner Production, 368, 133183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.133183

• He, L., Xu, Z., Wang, S., Bao, J., Fan, Y., & Daccache, A. (2022). Optimal crop planting pattern can be harmful to reach carbon neutrality: Evidence from food-energy-water-carbon nexus perspective. Applied Energy, 308, 118364. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.118364

• Shi, M., Xu, J., Liu, S., & Xu, Z. (2022). Productivity-Based Land Suitability and Management Sensitivity Analysis: The Eucalyptus E. urophylla× E. grandis Case. Forests, 13(2), 340. https://doi.org/10.3390/f13020340

• Jiang, Q., Xu, Z., Ye, G., Pahlow, M., Hu, M., & Qu, S. (2022). A systematic scoping review of environmental and socio-economic effects of COVID-19 on the global ocean-human system. Science of The Total Environment, 157925. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157925

• Zhou, C., Gong, M., Xu, Z., & Qu, S. (2022). Urban scaling patterns for sustainable development goals related to water, energy, infrastructure, and society in China. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 185, 106443. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2022.106443

2020

• Xu, Z., Chen, X., Liu, J., Zhang, Y., Chau, S., Bhattarai, N., ... & Li, Y. (2020). Impacts of irrigated agriculture on food–energy–water–CO 2 nexus across metacoupled systems. Nature communications, 11(1), 1-12.

• Xu, Z., Chau, S.N., Chen, X….& Liu, J. Assessing progress towards sustainable development over space and time. Nature 577, 74–78 (2020) doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1846-3.

• Xu, Z., Li, Y., Chau, S. N., Dietz, T., Li, C., Wan, L., ... & Liu, J. (2020). Impacts of international trade on global sustainable development. Nature Sustainability, 1-8.

• Chen, X., Wang, P., Muhammad, T., Xu, Z., & Li, Y. (2020). Subsystem-level groundwater footprint assessment in North China Plain–The world’s largest groundwater depression cone. Ecological Indicators, 117, 106662. (as corresponding author)

2019

• Xu, Z., Paul, M., Gong, M., & Liu, J. (2019). Shift in a National Virtual Energy Network. Applied Energy, 242, 561-569.

• Xu, Z., Chen, X., Wu, S. R., Gong, M., Du, Y., Wang, J., ... & Liu, J. (2019). Spatial-temporal assessment of water footprint, water scarcity and crop water productivity in a major crop production region. Journal of Cleaner Production, 224, 375-383.

• Wang, J., Chen, X., Liu, Z., Frans, V. F., Xu, Z.*, Qiu, X., ... & Li, Y. (2019). Assessing the water and carbon footprint of hydropower stations at a national scale. Science of The Total Environment, 676, 595-612. (as corresponding author)