Lei (Alice) Bian
Lei (Alice) Bian is Policy Fellow at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment. She is leading a policy-relevant research project on accelerating a just transition to net zero in the ASEAN region, with a focus on China’s role. She is a member of the LSE-Southeast Asia Early Career Research Network.
Background
Before joining the Grantham Research Institute, Alice was the Environment Researcher at Clean Air Asia, where she undertook policy and economic analyses on air quality management and climate change for China and Southeast Asia. Prior to this, she interned with the World Health Organisation for the Western Pacific Region (WPRO) in the Philippines, where she primarily contributed to the development of concept notes for the Green Climate Fund (GCF) on building low-carbon and climate-resilient health systems in the Pacific and Southeast Asian countries. Previously, she joined the Asian Development Bank (ADB) PRC Resident Mission as a consultant/ Regional Cooperation Coordinator for the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program.
She holds a BA in History and Philosophy of Science, and Economics and a Master of Food and Resource Economics from the University of British Columbia. She also holds an MSc in Global Energy and Climate Policy from the SOAS University of London.
Research interests
- Energy and climate change policy
- Climate change and health
- Climate change and food security
- Regional cooperation and integration
- Sustainable finance
Research
Research - 2023
This study explores the challenges and opportunities of China’s domestic and international roles in scaling up energy storage investments. Read more
Policy
Policy - 2024
This policy insight seeks to evaluate China’s role in supply chains for renewable energy technologies and how the country can accelerate the energy transition in other countries, particularly those in Southeast Asia. Read more
Policy - 2023
This policy brief provides evidence to support policymakers in mobilising capital for a just, resilient transition to net zero, by highlighting the potential health co-benefits of addressing the risks from heat and air pollution in combination. Read more
This report consists of a submission to the call for evidence by the Environmental Audit Committee on heat resilience and sustainable cooling. Read more
This report consists of written evidence to the UK Parliament Environmental Audit Committee’s inquiry on environmental change and food security. It states that UK’s Food Strategy of 2022 does not sufficiently factor climate risks into building resilient domestic food supply chains and suggests measures that the Government could take to increase food security while providing climate mitigation and health co-benefits. Read more
Policy - 2022
This paper explores health risks from climate change in a global context, setting out key risks and actions towards addressing these. Read more
This report explores policy options in which China can address the nexus of climate change and trade to reap the benefits of the global net zero transition through partnerships. Read more
News
News - 2023
Today at COP28 is the first-ever dedicated Health Day in the international climate negotiations, which has the potential to highlight how climate change is harming our health, and the health co-benefits of tackling climate change. Lei Bian and Elizabeth J Z Robinson outline some of the key issues. Read more
This news article reports on China’s overseas renewable energy investments. The article includes quotes from Lei Bian who stresses the... Read more
News - 2022
This news article considers the role of South Africa and China in discussions at the COP27 UN climate summit on... Read more
This article reports that the US is attempting to make China pay towards ‘loss and damage’ costs by classing the... Read more
This article for S&P Global Market Intelligence reports that China still has some scope for progress on climate targets at... Read more
