Dr Yuli Shan PhD

Profile picture of Dr Yuli Shan

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Associate Professor in Sustainable Transitions
GEES Sustainability Lead

Contact details

Telephone
0121 414 5525
Email
y.shan@bham.ac.uk
Twitter

Dr Yuli Shan is an expert in Climate Change and Sustainable Transitions. His interdisciplinary research aims to reveal how human activities affect global and regional climate change. He also seeks alternative low-carbon approaches towards the achievement of climate targets and a net-zero emission society. 

He is a Global Highly Cited Researcher (since 2020) and a Fellow of Royal Geographical Society (since 2024). His research achievement and international reputation has resulted in 20+ academic awards, 160+ publications in high-impact journals, 16k+ citations, high-profile media coverage, international conference and committee invites and contributing authorship for the IPCC 6th Assessment Report.

Qualifications

  • PhD in Climate Change and Development, University of East Anglia (2018)
  • Master of Social Development and Public Policy, Fudan University (2014)
  • BSc in Statistics and Actuarial Science, Tianjin University of Finance and Economics (2012)

Biography

Dr Yuli Shan is an Associate Professor in Sustainable Transitions at the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø. Before joining the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø, he worked at the University of Groningen as a Faculty Research Fellow. He got a doctoral degree from the University of East Anglia (2018) and a master’s degree from Fudan University (2014).

Yuli is a Global Highly Cited Researcher and the World's Top 2% Scientist since 2020. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, an IPCC contributing author, and an executive committee member of the National Association of Input-Output and Big Data of China. He is an Associate Editor or Editorial Board Member of several journals including Scientific Data, Advances in Applied Energy, Journal of Cleaner Production, etc.
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Yuli has won a dozen academic prizes including the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Founders' Awards (2023), the Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-Financed PhD Students Abroad (2016), and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research Green Talents Award (2018). Yuli has been interviewed by renowned media outlets and invited to present his research at international conferences.

Teaching

  • Climate Change in the Earth System - UG year 3
  • Global Environmental Issues - UG year 1
  • Fieldtrip course (Tokyo)
  • BSc Global Environmental Change and Sustainability

Postgraduate supervision

Climate Change Mitigation and Economics; Sustainable Transitions; Accounting of Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Research

Dr Yuli Shan’s research focuses on accounting for carbon emissions, climate change economics, and sustainable development, with a special focus on developing countries and cities. He has published over 160 papers in high-impact journals, including 20+ in Nature and Science entitled journals. His papers have been cited over 15,000 times (h-index 56), and 28 of them are ESI highly cited papers and 18 are hot papers.

Yuli has co-built an open emission dataset (CEADs.net) to provide the most up-to-date regional emission and energy data for emerging countries and subnational regions.

Other activities

  • Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers)
  • Board member of the Sustainable Urban System section of the International Society of Industrial Ecology (ISIE) and National Association of Input-Output and Big Data of China
  • Member of the International Input-Output Association (IIOA) and the International Society for Energy Transition Studies
  • Contributing author of the IPCC 6th assessment report, working group III
  • Editor for Scientific Data, Advances in Applied Energy, Journal of Cleaner Production, etc.

Publications

Highlight publications

Shan, Y, Guan, D, Zheng, H, Ou, J, Li, Y, Meng, J, Mi, Z, Liu, Z & Zhang, Q 2018, '', Scientific Data.

Guan, D, Meng, J, Reiner, DM, Zhang, N, Shan, Y, Mi, Z, Shao, S, Liu, Z, Zhang, Q & Davis, SJ 2018, '', Nature Geoscience.

Shan, Y, Guan, D, Hubacek, K, Zheng, B, Davis, SJ, Jia, L, Liu, J, Liu, Z, Fromer, N, Mi, Z, Meng, J, Deng, X, Li, Y, Lin, J, Schroeder, H, Weisz, H & Schellnhuber, HJ 2018, '', Science Advances.

Shan, Y, Fang, S, Cai, B, Zhou, Y, Li, D, Feng, K & Hubacek, K 2021, '', One Earth, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 124-134.

Shan, Y, Ou, J, Wang, D, Zeng, Z, Zhang, S, Guan, D & Hubacek, K 2021, '', Nature Climate Change, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 200–206.

Recent publications

Article

Wang, J, Wang, K, Hubacek, K, Feng, K, Shan, Y & Wei, YM 2025, '', Ecological Economics, vol. 227, 108421.

Tang, M, Liu, G, Hong, J, Liu, W, Zhong, C, Wang, D & Shan, Y 2025, '', Scientific Data, vol. 12, no. 1, 55.

Sun, K, Tong, K, Xu, J & Shan, Y 2025, '', Energy, vol. 323, 135833.

Yang, Z, Wang, Z, Zheng, H, Tian, K, Song, J, Ma, S, Fan, J, Shan, Y, Zhang, D & Zhang, B 2025, '', Resources, Conservation and Recycling, vol. 214, 108039.

Wang, D, Chen, Z, Sahu, RK, Kahil, T, Tang, T, Shan, Y, Zhang, W, Ye, W, Wu, G, Li, H & Hubacek, K 2025, '', Journal of Industrial Ecology.

Li, J, Liu, M, Shan, Y, Yang, J, Fang, W, Ma, Z & Bi, J 2025, '', Environmental Science and Technology, vol. 59, no. 16, pp. 7960-7972.

Zhang, Y, Zhu, X, Liu, D, Shan, Y & Wu, Y 2025, '', Sustainable Cities and Society, vol. 124, 106319.

Lv, L, Liu, M, Shan, Y, Xu, J, Yang, J, Fang, W, Ma, Z & Bi, J 2025, '', Earth's Future, vol. 13, no. 4, e2024EF005641.

Hou, S, Huo, J, Zhao, X, Wang, X, Zhang, X, Zhao, D, Tillotson, MR, Shan, Y, Flörke, M, Guo, W, Meng, J & Hubacek, K 2025, '', Nature Water, vol. 3, no. 4, 4, pp. 439-448.

Guan, Y, Shan, Y, Hang, Y, Nie, Q, Liu, Y & Hubacek, K 2025, '', Nature Communications, vol. 16, no. 1, 4599.

Zhang, Z, Shan, Y, Tillotson, MR, Ciais, P, Zhao, X, Zhao, D, Yang, H, Huo, J, Zeng, Z, Li, X, Zheng, H, Cai, B, Wang, W, Kai, W, Li, G, Niu, G, Guan, D, Liu, J & Hao, Y 2025, '', Communications Earth and Environment, vol. 6, no. 1, 349.

Yang, G, Zhang, G, Cao, D, Gao, X, Wang, X, Yang, S, Jiang, P, Zha, D & Shan, Y 2024, '', Scientific Data, vol. 11, no. 1, 738.

Mastrandrea, R, Burg, RT, Shan, Y, Hubacek, K & Ruzzenenti, F 2024, '', Communications Earth & Environment, vol. 5, no. 1, 5.

Andersen, EV, Wilts, JW, Shan, Y, Ruzzenenti, F & Hubacek, K 2024, '', Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management.

Xu, J, Guan, Y, Oldfield, J, Guan, D & Shan, Y 2024, '', Applied Energy, vol. 360, 122837.