Afforestation Pathways for China’s Carbon Neutrality
This book provides a systematic assessment of the role of afforestation in achieving China’s carbon neutrality target under financial constraints. It introduces a novel analytical framework integrating cost–optimal pathways, spatial modeling, and multi-sector coordination.
It evaluates the economic feasibility and mitigation potential of afforestation while identifying key financial barriers and trade-offs across regions. The analysis further explores how forestry policies can be aligned with broader decarbonization strategies to enhance cost-effectiveness.
The book offers actionable insights for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners, particularly in countries facing constraints in climate finance. It highlights scalable solutions and policy synergies that can support the design of sustainable and efficient carbon neutrality pathways.
Professor Ning Zhang is a doctoral supervisor and Director of the Institute for Blue-Green Development at Shandong University, and a Senior Fellow at the University of Cambridge. He has published 100+ articles in leading journals, including Science and other Nature family journals, and is a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher, ranked among the top 2% of global scientists and top 5% of economists by IDEAS/RePEc. He serves as Editor-in-Chief of Green and Low-Carbon Economy and Associate Editor of Social Science Journal.
Dr. Xianghua Zhang is a supervisor of master’s students. His research focuses on climate economics, carbon neutrality, resource and environmental economics and forest carbon sequestration. He has published 20+ articles in leading journals, including Nature-affiliated and SCI/SSCI-indexed outlets. He conducted part of his research at Wageningen University and Research as a joint PhD student and serves as a peer reviewer for leading international journals, such as Nature Communications and Earth’s Future.