Chunping Xie
Chunping Xie is a Visiting Senior Fellow at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at LSE. She is currently a Climate Economist in the Economics Department at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
Previously, she was a Senior Policy Fellow at the Institute (from 2019-2023), where she led a programme focused on informing decision-making related to China’s policies on climate change, energy, economics, and development.
She was a Co-PI for the EPSRC-funded project Plasma Assisted Thermo-CHemical energy storage for Carnot batteries (PATCH) (£1.1M), where she led a Work Package on assessing the economic performance and policy barriers of a novel energy storage technology.
She was a member of the Organization Committee of the Global Alliance of Universities on Climate (GAUC), dedicated to advancing climate change solutions through research, education, and public outreach.
Chunping holds a PhD in Energy Economics, and her research interests focus on promoting clean energy transition and sustainable economic development, with multidisciplinary expertise in economics, energy technologies and energy/climate policy.
She is an Associate Editor of the journal “Progress in Energy”, and also serves on the Editorial Board of Energy Storage and Saving (ENSS), the Young Editorial Board of Applied Energy, and the Advisory Board of “Cell Reports Sustainability”.
Background
Chunping worked at the Grantham Research Institute at LSE from 2019 to 2023. In September 2023, she joined AIIB as a Climate Economist.
Prior to joining the Grantham Research Institute, Chunping worked at the Birmingham Centre for Energy Storage (BCES), University of Birmingham, with a special emphasis on developing techno-economic models for the integration of energy storage technology into energy systems, to support the UK’s net zero transition. Before that she worked at King’s College London, looking at the global fossil energy markets with a major focus on Russian gas and its geopolitical and geo-economic impacts on the European Union and China.
Research interests
Growth and Innovation
Policy Design and Evaluation
Sustainable Development
Energy Transition towards a Low-carbon Future
Research
Research - 2024
The authors of this paper developed an economic model to investigate the techno-economic performance of standalone and combined energy storage solutions for a fully green grid in three defined scenarios. Read more
Research - 2023
The authors of this paper examine the increasingly crucial role that China is playing in global climate action. Read more
Research - 2022
This paper argues that China will have to change the way of development by taking a sustainable pathway to growth but that this new approach does not mean sacrificing economic growth. Read more
This study assesses the environmental efficiency and technology inequality of China’s power sector from 2008 to 2017. Read more
China, with a heavy dependence on coal power, has announced a clear goal of carbon neutrality by 2060. Electrification of final energy use and high penetration of renewable energy are essential to achieve this say the authors of this paper. Read more
Research - 2021
This paper empirically evaluates the effectiveness of three main forms of subsidies: fiscal policy, preferential tax, and government procurement. Specifically, we pay attention to financing issues and use an event study approach to investigate how the capital market responds to these policies. Read more
This paper discusses major action areas for China's 14th Five-Year Plan after COVID-19, especially focusing on three aspects: the energy transition, a new type of sustainable urban development, and investment priorities. Read more
Research - 2020
The authors of this paper investigate under which circumstances the use of second life batteries in stationary energy storage systems in China can be profitable using an operational optimization model. Read more
Research - 2019
Coal has been dominating energy supply and consumption in China, with the country becoming the largest energy supplier and consumer... Read more
Policy
Policy - 2023
This report rethinks basic issues in economics in describing a new development strategy for China, focusing on theories of value, the definition and measurement of wellbeing and wealth, and analytical frameworks for individual and collective behaviour. It sets out guiding principles and actions to reshape key sectors. Read more
Policy - 2022
This paper examines China’s domestic and foreign policymaking for the energy transition, and its role in promoting multilateralism and international collaboration on building a sustainable world, making recommendations in the areas of renewable energy, finance and research, development and innovation. Read more
Policy - 2021
In this policy insight, Nicholas Stern and Chunping Xie discuss China’s need to peak its greenhouse emissions by 2025 as it tackles the threat of climate change in the aftermath of COVID-19 and in the run-up to its 2060 carbon neutrality target. Read more
This paper discusses how China's low-carbon transition can act as a new driver of growth in the post-COVID-19 era, including the need to peak carbon emissions during the 14th Five-Year Plan to meet the 2060 carbon neutrality goal. Read more
This paper focuses on three action areas for China's 14th Five-Year Plan: the energy transition, a new type of sustainable urban development and investment priorities. Read more
Policy - 2020
The world is currently facing two crises of potentially immense proportions: COVID-19 and climate change. The response to both must be global, urgent and on great scale, argue the authors of this paper, as they outline the need for a sustainable recovery, and also the importance of China's role. Read more
This paper sets out the role for the coordinated development of clean, compact and connected (CCC) cities alongside the restructuring of existing metropolitan areas, and describes the necessary drivers of structural change, in the economic recovery phase in China. Read more
The authors in this policy insight set out a number of action areas for enabling China’s 14th Plan to embody high-quality development and strong, sustainable, resilient and inclusive growth in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more
This paper examines the role of investment in physical, human, natural and social capital in the new phase of growth China is entering. It provides the beginnings of an analytical framework for key elements of this new growth story, examining how a focus on the four types of capital can help deliver prosperity through China’s 14th Five-Year Plan and Belt and Road Initiative. Read more
The first of two papers that offer an outline of strategies and policies for an innovative, sustainable and low-carbon approach to China’s development, this paper offers an approach that could spell out a new development strategy for the country as the 21st century progresses, to inform decision-making for China’s 14th Five-Year Plan. Read more
News
News - 2023
This news article reports on a new paper by the Grantham Institute, that calls for the Chinese government to establish a... Read more
News - 2022
In this radio interview Chunping Xie discusses China’s efforts to reach net-zero emissions and responds to speculation over whether the... Read more
This article reports that China's coal production and consumption are likely to rise in the near term as the government focuses on the need for energy security. The article includes quotes from Xie Chunping. Read more
This article considers China's recent push to increase the production and supply of coal as a short term measure in response to recent power shortages. Read more
This news article looks at China's pursuit of low-carbon economic growth and its potential influence on other Asian countries. Read more
More than a year has now passed since China’s initial announcement on becoming carbon neutral by 2060. In this Guest Post for Carbon Brief, Chunping Xie asks, what expectations of progress does the world have of China – and has China lived up to them? Read more
China faces a golden opportunity to strengthen its climate leadership internationally in the areas of renewable energy, sustainable finance and innovation. Having already made important steps towards its climate goals domestically, the time is right for China to look globally, argues a new paper by leading policy advisors. Read more
As part of Carbon Brief's weekly China Briefing Chunping Xie discusses the need for China to acceelerate its transition to renewable energy sources. Read more
News - 2021
In this editorial article for China Daily Nicholas Stern and Xie Chunping assess the importance of the joint declaration by China and the United States of their determination to work together to tackle climate change. The declaration was made during the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow. Read more
In this news article Chunping Xie comments on China’s emissions trading scheme and the impact that the growth in electric... Read more
In this blog post Nicholas Stern and Chunping Xie discuss progress China has made in terms of environmental policies and measures to tackle climate change over the past 10 years. In the article they highlight the importance of bringing forward the peak in China’s greenhouse gas emissions to no later than 2025. Read more
In this news article Chunping Xie comments on plans to reform China's "dual-control" policy of capping energy intensity and overall energy consumption. Read more
In this digest of news from China Chunping Xie responds to new of plans to improve the “dual-control policy” which... Read more
In this digest of news from China Chunping Xie discusses a new system introduced by the government to evaluate and “pre-warn” regions about their energy-use performance. Read more
In this news article Chunping Xie highlights the importance of China’s efforts to overhaul its power system to global efforts... Read more
In this article which considers China's efforts to cut its carbon emissions in line with the Paris Agreement targets Chunping Xie says that a failure to cut emissions early will prove more costly in the long run. Read more
In this feature article Chunping Xie comments on research paper which assesses the efforts required by China to contribute to... Read more