Dr. Lo Tek Sheng, Kevin (盧笛聲博士)
Department Chair and Associate Professor of Geography
Acting Director of the David C. Lam Institute for East-West Studies
Environmental Politics, Environmental Governance, Political Geography, Urban Geography, China
EDUCATION
- Ph.D., University of Melbourne, Australia
- M.Env., University of Melbourne, Australia
- M.Sc., Brunel University London, UK
- B.Sc. (Hons.), The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
ACADEMIC AWARDS
- 2021 World’s Top 2% Most-Cited Scientists, Stanford University
- 2020 Outstanding Journal Article Award, Chinese Geographical Science
- 2020 Associate, Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies, University of Melbourne
- 2017 Best Conference Paper Award, RSA Australasia Conference.
- 2016 Visiting Professor, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
- 2012-2014 Melbourne School of Land and Environment Postgraduate Publishing Award
- 2009 Melbourne Global Scholars Award
RESEARCH INTERESTS
- Environmental Politics
- Environmental Governance
- Political geography
- Urban geography
- China
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
- Founding Editor, Journal of Asian Energy Studies, 2017-
- Section Editor, Current Sustainable/Renewable Energy Reports, 2016-
- Review Editor, Frontiers in Energy Research, 2015-
- Editorial Board Member, AIMS Environmental Science, 2021-
- Editorial Board Member, Chinese Geographical Science, 2021-
- Editorial Board Member, AIMS Energy, 2013-
- Topical Advisory Panel, Energies, 2021-
TEACHING
- Environmental Health and Policy
- Sustainable Community Energy Planning
- Research Methods and Statistics
- Energy Audit and Carbon Management
- Global Energy Development
- Renewable energy systems and Technology
External Grants
PI, General Research Fund (GRF), Research Grants Council. Decentralized climate governance and policy implementation in China: Unraveling a paradox, 01/2019-06/2022, HKD 757,920.
PI, Early Career Scheme (ECS), Research Grants Council. China’s low-carbon city initiative: Authoritarian environmentalism and climate policy experimentation, 01/2018-06/2021, HKD 820,000.
Co-I, General Research Fund (GRF), Research Grants Council. Assessment of methane emissions from shale gas production in China, 01/2023-12/2025, HKD 684,767.
Co-PI, Research Impact Fund (RIF), Research Grants Council. Exploring the role of big data analytics in promoting smart low-carbon cities: A human-centered, community-based, and deep engagement approach in Hong Kong, 06/2021-06/2024, HKD 5,700,000.
Co-I, Public Policy Research Funding Scheme (PPR), Central Policy Unit. Engaging the community to develop a model for sustainable energy futures: A case study of two prospective solar communities in Hong Kong, 09/2018-08/2019, HKD630,000.
Co-I, Ford Foundation, China’s urban future: Policy, people, and social change, 01/2018-12/2020, USD 206,000.
Journal Articles
[101] |
Deng L, Mah D, Cheung DM, Lo K (2023). Civic activism and petition politics in energy transitions: discursive tactics, networking, and media mobilization in an anti-nuclear movement in China. Energy Research & Social Science, 95, 102889. |
[100] |
Geng Q, Lo K. Global ecological civilization: An analysis of macro-level policies of the Belt and Road Initiative. Research in Globalization, 7, 100141. |
[99] |
Yu J, Li J, Lo K, Huang S (2023). Withdrawal intention of farmers from vacant rural homesteads and its influencing mechanism in Northeast China: A case study of Jilin Province. Chinese Geographical Science, 33, 634-648. |
[98] |
Lo K, Kibalya B (2023). Electric cooperatives and the political economy of rural electrification in Africa: Insights from Uganda. The Electricity Journal, 36,107238. |
[97] |
Yang Y, Lo K (2023). China’s renewable energy and energy efficiency policies toward carbon neutrality: A systematic cross-sectoral review. Energy & Environment. |
[96] |
Gao X, Wen R, Lo K, Li J, Yan A (2023). Heterogeneity and non-linearity of ecosystem responses to climate change in the Qilian Mountains National Park, China. Journal of Arid Land. 15, 508-522. |
[95] |
Wang X, Lo K (2023). Energy and environmental justice in China: Literature review and research agenda. Journal of Asian Energy Studies, 7, 91-106. |
[94] |
Yang S, Liu L, Wang C, Lo K, Wang D (2023). Elderly people’s preferences for healthcare facilities in Shanghai: gender features and influencing factor analysis. BMC Public Health, 23, 356. |
[93] |
Geng Q, Lo K (2022). China’s Green Belt and Road Initiative: transnational environmental governance and causal pathways of orchestration. Environmental Politics, 1-23. |
[92] |
Wang X, Lo K (2022). Pastoralism and conservation: The politics and notions of environmental justice under the grazing ban policy in Inner Mongolia, China. Political Geography, 99, 102779. |
[91] |
Lam CK, He Q, Cheng KL, Fan PY, Chun KP, Choi B, Mah DN, Cheung DM, Lo K, Yetemen O (2022). Impact of climate change and socioeconomic factors on domestic energy consumption: The case of Hong Kong and Singapore. Energy Reports, 8, 12886-12904. |
[90] |
Wang X, Lo K (2022). Civil society, environmental litigation, and Confucian energy justice: A case study of an environmental NGO in China. Energy Research & Social Science, 93, 102831. |
[89] |
Li Y, Zhang P, Lo K, Tan J, Yang Q (2022). Borderland economic resilience under Covid-19: evidence form China-Russia border regions. International Journal of Environ mental Research and Public Health, 19, 13042. |
[88] |
Liu M, Lo K (2022). Eco-cities as urban laboratories of Chinese ecological modernization: eco-experimentation and the modernization of urban governance. Urban Geography, 1-25. |
[87] |
Lo K, Zhu L (2022). Voices from below: Local community perceptions of forest conservation policies in China. Forest Policy and Economics, 144, 102825. |
[86] |
Liu M, Lo K, Westman L, Huang P (2022). Beyond the North-South divide: The political economy and multi-level governance of international low-carbon technology transfer in China. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 44, 194-204. |
[85] |
Wang X, Lo K (2022). Political economy of just transition: Disparate impact of coal mine closure on state-owned and private coal workers in Inner Mongolia, China. Energy Research & Social Science, 90, 102585. |
[84] |
Liu M, Lo, K (2022). Multi-actor perspective, socio-technical barriers, and microgrid development in China. The Electricity Journal, 35, 107158. |
[83] |
Li L, Liu S, Li C, Zhang P, Lo K (2022). What matters for regional economic resilience amid multi shock situations: Structural or agency? Evidence from resource-based cities in China. Sustainability, 14, 5701. |
[82] |
Liu M, Lo K (2022). The territorial politics of urban expansion: Administrative annexation and land acquisition. Cities, 126, 103704. |
[81] |
Lo K (2022). Implications of COVID-19 for climate governance in China: The rise of an eco-surveillance state? Journal of Asian Energy Studies, 6, 25-36. |
[80] |
Zhu L, Lo K (2022). Workplace attachment and the eco-restructuring of people-workplace relationships in China’s extractive forestry. The Extractive Industries and Society, 10, 101072. |
[79] |
Liu J, Lo K (2022). Chinese environmental activism and the environmental politics of rumors. Political Geography, 95, 102593. |
[78] |
Zhu L, Lo K (2022). Eco-socialism and the political ecology of forest conservation in the Greater Khingan Range, China. Political Geography, 93, 102533. |
[77] |
Liu M, Lo K (2021). A comparative review of urban climate governance in Chinese and Western contexts. Urban Governance, 1, 81-88. |
[76] |
Lo K (2021). Can authoritarian regimes achieve just energy transition? Evidence from China’s solar photovoltaic poverty alleviation initiative. Energy Research & Social Science, 82, 102315. |
[75] |
Wang X, Lo K (2021). Just transition: A conceptual review. Energy Research & Social Science, 82, 102291. |
[74] |
Gao X, Wang K, Lo K, Wen R, Huang X, Dang Q (2021). Water poverty assessment based on the random forest algorithm: application to Gansu, Northwest China. Water Policy, 23, 1388-1399. |
[73] |
Li J, Lo K, Zhang P, Guo M (2021). Reclaiming small to fill large: A novel approach to rural residential land consolidation in China. Land Use Policy, 109, 105706. |
[72] |
Tong W, Lo K (2021). Back to the countryside: Rural development and the spatial patterns of population migration in Zhejiang, China. Agriculture, 11, 788. |
[71] |
Lo K (2021). Authoritarian environmentalism, just transition, and the tension between environmental protection and social justice in China’s forestry reform. Forest Policy and Economics, 131, 102574. |
[70] |
Zhu L, Lo K (2021). Non-timber forest products as livelihood restoration in forest conservation: A restorative justice approach. Trees, Forests, and People, 6, 100130. |
[69] |
Mah D, Cheung D, Leung M, Wang M, Wong M, Lo K, Cheung A (2021). Policy mixes and the policy learning process of energy transitions: Insights from the feed-in tariff policy and urban community solar in Hong Kong. Energy Policy, 157, 112214. |
[68] |
Gao X, Huang X, Lo K, Dang Q, Wen R (2021). Vegetation responses to climate change in the Qilian Mountain Nature Reserve, Northwest China. Global Ecology and Conservation, 28, e01698. |
[67] |
Yang S, Wang D, Lo K (2021). An inverted-U relationship between house prices and migrant integration. Cities, 103375. |
[66] |
Liu M, Lo K (2021). Governing eco-cities in China: Urban climate experimentation, international cooperation, and multilevel governance. Geoforum, 121, 12-22. |
[65] |
Yang X, Lo K (2021). Environmental health research and the COVID-19 pandemic: A turning point towards sustainability. Environmental Research, 197, 111157. |
[64] |
Yang S, Wang D, Xu L, Wang C, Yang X, Lo K (2021). Private healthcare expenditure in China: A regional comparative analysis. Healthcare, 9, 1374. |
[63] |
Yang S, Wang D, Li W, Wang C, Yang X, Lo, K (2021). Decoupling of elderly healthcare demand and expenditure in China. Healthcare, 9, 1346. |
[62] |
Gao X, Wang K, Lo K, Wen R, Mi X, Liu K, Huang X (2021). An evaluation of coupling coordination between rural development and water environment in northwestern China. Land, 10, 405. |
[61] |
Liu J, Lo K, Mah D, Guo M (2021). Cross-border governance and sustainable energy transition: The case of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Current Sustainable/Renewable Energy Reports, 8, 101-106. |
[60] |
Liu M, Lo K (2021). Pathways to international cooperation on climate governance in China: A comparative analysis. Journal of Chinese Governance, 6, 417-434. |
[59] |
Castán Broto V, Mah D, Zhang F, Huang P, Lo K, Westman L (2020). Spatiotemporal perspectives on urban energy transitions: a comparative study of three cities in China. Urban Transformations, 2, 11. |
[58] |
Lo K (2020). Ecological civilization, authoritarian environmentalism, and the eco-politics of extractive governance in China. Extractive Industries and Society, 7, 1029-1035. |
[57] |
Lo K (2020). COVID-19 and sustainable energy development: Agendas for future research. Journal of Asian Energy Studies, 4, 20-25. |
[56] |
Rogers S, Li J, Lo K, Guo H, Li C (2020). Moving millions to eliminate poverty: China’s rapidly evolving practice of poverty resettlement. Development Policy Review, 38, 541-554. |
[55] |
Lo K (2020). Governing energy consumption in China: a comprehensive assessment of the energy conservation target responsibility system. Energy Transitions, 4, 57-67. |
[54] |
Li L, Zhang P, Lo K, Liu W, Li J (2020). The evolution of regional economic resilience in the old industrial bases in China: A case study of Liaoning Province, China. Chinese Geographical Science, 30, 340-351. |
[53] |
Tong W, Lo K, Zhang P (2020). Land consolidation in rural China: Life satisfaction among resettlers and its determinants. Land, 9, 118. |
[52] |
Lo K, Li H, Chen K (2020). Climate experimentation and the limits of top-down control: Local variation of climate pilots in China. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 63, 109-126. |
[51] |
Yang Y, Lo K (2020). Policy network theory and its application in the Chinese governance. Advances in Social Sciences, 9, 1614-1623. |
[50] |
Li H, Lo K, Zhang P (2020). Population shrinkage in resource-dependent cities in China: Processes, patterns and drivers. Chinese Geographical Science, 30, 1-15. |
[49] |
Tan J, Lo K, Qiu F, Zhang X, Zhao H (2020). Regional economic resilience of resource‐based cities and influential factors during economic crises in China. Growth and Change, 51, 362-381. |
[48] |
Lo K, Castán Broto V (2019). Co-benefits, contradictions, and multi-level governance of low-carbon experimentation: Leveraging solar energy for sustainable development in China. Global Environmental Change, 59, 101993. |
[47] |
Tong W, Zhu L, Lo K (2019). Livelihood adaptation and life satisfaction among land-lost farmers: Critiquing China’s urbanisation-driven land appropriation. Bulletin of Geography. Socio-economic Series, 46, 149-161. |
[46] |
Lo K, Li J, Wang M, Li C, Li S, Li Y (2019). A comparative analysis of participating and non-participating households in pro-poor tourism in southern Shaanxi, China. Tourism Planning & Development, 16, 318-333. |
[45] |
Yang Y, Lo K (2019). Experimentation under hierarchy and China’s low-carbon city development. Journal of Low Carbon Economy, 8, 71-81. |
[44] |
Li, J Guo M, Lo K (2019). Estimating housing vacancy rates in rural China using power consumption data. Sustainability, 11, 5722. |
[43] |
Li J, Lo K, Guo M (2018). What influences the choice between private car and public transport for shopping trips? Impact of socio-economic and built environment factors. Journal of Asian Energy Studies, 2, 29-43. |
[42] |
Guan H, Liu W, Zhang P, Lo K, Li J, Li L (2018). Analyzing industrial structure evolution of old industrial cities using evolutionary resilience theory: A case study in Shenyang of China. Chinese Geographical Science, 28, 516-528. |
[41] |
Mah DNY, Wang G, Lo K, Leung KHM, Hills P, Lo AY (2018). Barriers and policy enablers for solar PV in cities: Perspectives of potential adopters in Hong Kong. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 92, 921-936. |
[40] |
Li J, Lo K, Zhang P (2018). Shopping mobility and travel carbon emissions among suburban residents: lessons from Shenyang city, China. Journal of Spatial Science, 63, 311-323. |
[39] |
Yang S, Cao D, Lo K (2018). Analyzing and optimizing the impact of economic restructuring on Shanghai’s carbon emissions using STIRPAT and NSGA-II. Sustainable Cities and Society, 40, 44-53. |
[38] |
Li J, Lo K, Guo M (2018). Do socio-economic characteristics affect travel behavior? A comparative study of low-carbon and non-low-carbon shopping travel in Shenyang City, China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15, 1346. |
[37] |
Lo K, Mah DNY, Wang G, Leung KHM, Lo AY, Hills, P (2018). Barriers to adopting solar photovoltaic systems in Hong Kong. Energy & Environment, 29, 649–663. |
[36] |
Lo K, Wang M (2018). How voluntary is poverty alleviation resettlement in China? Habitat International, 73, 34-42. |
[35] |
Tan J, Lo K, Qiu F, Liu W, Li J, Zhang P (2017). Regional economic resilience: Resistance and recoverability of resource-based cities during economic crises in Northeast China. Sustainability, 9, 2136. |
[34] |
Liu D, Lo K, Song W, Xie C (2017). Spatial patterns of car sales and their socio-economic attributes in China. Chinese Geographical Science, 27, 684-696. |
[33] |
Li J, Lo K, Zhang P, Guo M (2017). Relationship between built environment, socio-economic factors and carbon emissions from shopping trip in Shenyang City, China. Chinese Geographical Science, 27, 722-734. |
[32] |
Tan J, Zhang P, Lo K, Li J, Liu, S (2017). Conceptualizing and measuring economic resilience of resource-based cities: Case study of Northeast China. Chinese Geographical Science, 27, 471-481. |
[31] |
Tong W, Zhang P, Lo K, Chen T, Gao R (2017). Age-differentiated impact of land appropriation and resettlement on landless farmers: A case study of Xinghua village, China. Geographical Research, 55, 293-304. |
[30] |
Lo K (2017). Renewable energy development in Hong Kong: Potential, progress, and barriers. Current Sustainable/Renewable Energy Reports, 4, 50-55. |
[29] |
Lo K (2017). Asian energy challenges in the Asian century. Journal of Asian Energy Studies, 1, 1-6. |
[28] |
Guo F, Lo K, Tong L (2016). Eco-efficiency analysis of industrial systems in the Songhua River basin: A decomposition model approach. Sustainability, 8, 1271. |
[27] |
Tan J, Zhang P, Lo K, Li J, Liu S (2016). The urban transition performance of resource-based cities in Northeast China. Sustainability, 8, 1022. |
[26] |
Li J, Lo K, Zhang P, Guo M (2016). Consumer travel behaviors and transport carbon emissions: A comparative study of commercial centers in Shenyang, China. Energies, 9, 765. |
[25] |
Lo K, Xue L, Wang M (2016). Spatial restructuring through poverty alleviation resettlement in rural China. Journal of Rural Studies, 47, 496–505. |
[24] |
Li H, Lo K, Wang M, Zhang P, Xue L (2016). Industrial energy consumption in Northeast China under the revitalisation strategy: A decomposition and policy analysis. Energies, 9, 549. |
[23] |
Li J, Zhang P, Lo K, Guo M, Wang M (2015). Reducing carbon emissions from shopping trips: Evidence from China. Energies, 8, 10043-10057. |
[22] |
Wang M, Lo K (2015). Displacement and resettlement with Chinese characteristics: An editorial introduction. Geography Research Forum, 35, 1-9. |
[21] |
Lo K (2015). Governing China’s clean energy transition: Policy reforms, flexible implementation and the need for empirical investigation. Energies, 8, 13255-13264. |
[20] |
Lo K (2015). How authoritarian is the environmental governance of China? Environmental Science and Policy, 54, 152-159. |
[19] |
Lo K, Li H, Wang M (2015). Energy conservation in China’s energy-intensive enterprises: An empirical study of the Ten-Thousand Enterprises Program. Energy for Sustainable Development, 27, 105-111. |
[18] |
Li H, Lo K, Wang M (2015). Economic transformation of mining cities in transition economies: Lessons from Daqing, Northeast China. International Development Planning Review, 37, 311-328. |
[17] |
Yang S, Wang C, Lo K, Wang M, Liu L (2015). Quantifying and mapping spatial variability of Shanghai household carbon footprints. Frontiers in Energy, 9, 115-124. |
[16] |
Lo K (2015). The “Warm Houses” program: Insulating existing buildings through compulsory retrofits. Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments, 9, 63-67. |
[15] |
Lo K (2015). Campus sustainability in Chinese higher education institutions: Focuses, motivation and challenges. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 16, 34-43. |
[14] |
Lo K (2014). Urban carbon governance and the transition towards low-carbon urbanism: Review of a global phenomenon. Carbon Management, 5, 269-283. |
[13] |
Lo K (2014). China’s low-carbon city initiatives: The implementation gap and the limits of the target responsibility system. Habitat International, 42, 236-244. |
[12] |
Liu S, Zhang P, Lo K (2014). Urbanization in remote areas: A case study of the Heilongjiang Reclamation Area, Northeast China. Habitat International, 42, 103-110. |
[11] |
Lo K (2014). A critical review of China’s rapidly developing renewable energy and energy efficiency policies. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 29, 508-516. |
[10] |
Lo K (2014). Low carbon governance in China: Barriers and solutions. Scientia Geographica Sinica, 34, 265-271. |
[9] |
Lo K* (2014). Energy-related carbon emissions of China’s model environmental cities. Geography Journal, 2014, 1-7. |
[8] |
Tong W, Yang Q, Zhang P, Lo K and Han R (2014). The impact of economic development on the environment and the applicability of the environmental Kuznets curve in Jilin province. Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering, 7, 732-737. |
[7] |
Lo K (2013). Deliberating on the energy cap in China: The key to a low-carbon future? Carbon Management, 4, 365-367. |
[6] |
Lo K (2013). Energy conservation in China’s higher education institutions. Energy Policy, 56, 703-710. |
[5] |
Lo K, Wang, M (2013). Energy Conservation in China’s Twelfth Five-Year Plan Period: Continuation or Paradigm Shift? Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 18, 499-507. |
[4] |
Lo K (2013). Approaching neighborhood democracy from a longitudinal perspective: An eighteen-year case study of a homeowner association in Beijing. Urban Studies Research, 2013, 1-10. |
[3] |
Lo K, Wang M (2013). The development and localisation of a foreign gated community in Beijing. Cities, 30, 186-192. |
[2] |
Liu S, Zhang P, Jiang X, Lo K (2013). Measuring sustainable urbanization in China: A case study of the coastal Liaoning Area. Sustainability Science, 8, 585-594. |
[1] |
Lo K (2013). Interested but unsure: Public attitudes toward electric vehicles in China. Electronic Green Journal, 36, 1-12. |
Book Chapters
[5] |
Lo K (2017). Energy efficiency programs in China. Solomon, B, Calvert K (eds), Handbook of the Geographies of Energy. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, 211-219. |
[4] |
Lo K, Wang M (2017). Low-carbon (re-)industrialization: Lessons from China. Nawratek K (eds), Urban Re-Industrialization. Punctum Books, Brooklyn, 149-158. |
[3] |
Lo K (2017). Grassroots environmentalism and low-carbon cities. Dhakal S, Ruth M (eds.), Creating Low Carbon Cities. Springer, Cham, 43-50. |
[2] |
Lo K, Wang M, Qin B, Han S (2015). Low carbon city development in China. Han S, Green, R and Wang, M (eds.), Towards Low Carbon Cities in China: Urban Forms and Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Routledge, Oxon, 21-50. |
[1] |
Lo K, Wang M (2015). Low carbon policies and programs in China. Han S, Green R, Wang, M (eds.), Towards Low Carbon Cities in China: Urban Forms and Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Routledge, Oxon, 51-75. |
Edited Journal Issues
[3] |
Lo K (2021). Regional Renewable Energy (China). Current Sustainable/Renewable Energy Reports, 8. |
[2] |
Lo K (2017). Regional renewable energy (China). Current Sustainable/Renewable Energy Reports, 4. |
[1] |
Wang M, Lo K (2015). Special issue: Displacement and resettlement with Chinese characteristics. Geography Research Forum, 35. |
Book Reviews
[7] |
Lo K (2023). Certifying China: the rise and limits of transnational sustainability governance in emerging economies. Environmental Politics, 32, 178-180. |
[6] |
Lo K (2021). Toxic politics: China’s environmental health crisis and its challenge to the Chinese State. Environmental Politics, 30, 487-488. |
[5] |
Lo K (2019). Politics of renewable energy in China. Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 59, 940-944. |
[4] |
Lo K (2015). Energy efficiency: The definitive guide to the cheapest, cleanest, fastest source of energy. Energy Technology, 3, 667. |
[3] |
Lo K (2014). Chinese perspectives on the environment and sustainable development. Asian Studies Review, 38, 695-696. |
[2] |
Lo K (2013). Small, gritty, and green: The promise of America’s smaller industrial cities in a low-carbon world. Electronic Green Journal, 36, 1-2. |
[1] |
Lo K (2013). Cities and climate change. Traffic, 13, 199-201. |
Other Publications
[2] |
Lo K (2022). COVID-19 and the rise of the surveillance state in China. Melbourne Asia Review. |
[1] |
Lo K, Lo A (2016). China’s plan to increase coal power by 20% is not the climate disaster it seems. The Conversation. |