Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions

Duke-DKU Workshop: Climate Governance & Transition Pathways in an Uncertain Era

Date and Time
Thursday, May 7, 2026 - 9 a.m. to 4:40 p.m.
Location
Bolton Family Tower Room, Brodhead Center, 3rd Floor, Duke University
Event flier for "Duke-DKU Workshop: Climate Governance & Transition Pathways in an Uncertain Era" on Thursday, May 7 from 9 a.m.-4:40 p.m. in the Bolton Family Tower Room, Brodhead Center, 3rd floor, Duke University. Includes aerial photo of Duke Forest on Duke University campus in the U.S. and lily ponds in front of a building on Duke Kunshan University's campus in China. Includes logos for Duke Kunshan University, IMEP, and Nicholas Institute. Register: duke.is/may7climate

About

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A collaborative Duke University and Duke Kunshan University workshop. Open to all; registration is required, and attendees are welcome to attend all or part of the event.

Duke Kunshan University's International Master of Environmental Policy (iMEP) faculty will host a one-day workshop featuring a dynamic panel discussion on critical themes such as climate governance, biodiversity conservation, and new energy innovation. In addition, the workshop will feature two parallel sessions for academic paper presentations, offering scholars an opportunity to share their latest research and insights. This event seeks to foster meaningful dialogue and meetings between scholars from both Duke and DKU, encouraging the exchange of ideas and interdisciplinary perspectives. By bringing together leading experts and emerging voices, the workshop aims to address the most pressing climate and environmental challenges facing humanity today and to inspire innovative solutions for a sustainable future.

Agenda

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9:00 - 9:05 a.m.Opening Remarks
9:05 - 9:45 a.m.

Panel Session I: Climate and Biodiversity Governance in an Uncertain Time

Coraline Goron (DKU), Binbin Li (DKU), Stuart Pimm (Duke)

9:45 - 10:25 a.m.

Panel Session II: Energy and Climate Policy Innovation and Finance

Moderator: Jackson Ewing (Duke and DKU)
Junjie Zhang (DKU and Duke), Jingbo Cui (DKU)

10:30 - 11:30 a.m.

Workshop: Climate, Risk, and Finance

Moderator: Jeff Vincent (Duke)
Junjie Zhang (DKU and Duke), Climate Change and Financial Stability
Yichun Fan (Duke), Dynamic Development Responses to Flood Protection and Implications for Valuing Climate Adaptation Infrastructure
Jonathan Wiener (Duke), Space as Province, Property, and Planetary Protection 

11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.Lunch Break
12:30 - 2:00 p.m.

Workshop: Forestry, Land-Use, and Credits

Moderator: Xiao Wang (DKU)
Wumeng He (DKU), Payments for Forest Protection Reshape Forest Structure and Composition in Subtropical China
Richard Mei (Duke), Optimal Rotation Extension for Forest Carbon Credits
Dalia Patiño-Echeverri (Duke), Headroom Studies to Quantify the Available Power System Capacity to Serve Large Flexible Loads from Data Centers and Industrialization  
Danny Tobin (Duke), Guiding Private Afforestation to Raise Public Goods Provision: Understanding Farmers’ Multi-dimensional Preference for Trees in India 

2:00 - 3:20 p.m.

Workshop: Biodiversity, Development, and Health

Moderator: Wumeng He (DKU)
Alex Pfaff (Duke), Can A Flexible Anti-Poverty Intervention Deliver Development and the Environment
Xiao Wang (DKU), Infant Mortality Impacts of Industrial Lead Pollution
Liyin He (Duke), Harnessing Geoinformatics for Food Sustainability
Binbin Li (DKU), Spillover Effect of Biodiversity Conservation on Other Global Challenges 

3:20 - 3:40 p.m.Coffee Break
3:40 - 4:40 p.m.

Workshop: Ecological Systems and Policy

Moderator: Chuanhui Gu (DKU)
Ka Leung Lam (DKU), Environmental Sustainability Assessment of Phosphorus Recovery from Wastewater
Ding Ma (DKU), Widening Swings of the Southern Annular Mode-Baroclinic Annular Mode (SAMBA Mode) in the Atmosphere
Shineng Hu (Duke), Connecting the Dots in and beyond the Climate System: An Atmosphere-Land-Ocean Holistic Approach (ALOHA) 

 

Speakers

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Participants from Duke Kunshan University

Jingbo Cui, Associate Professor of Applied Economics, Co-Director of the Environmental Research Center, and Director of Graduate Studies for the International Master of Environmental Policy (iMEP) Program at Duke Kunshan University

Chuanhui Gu, Associate Professor of Environmental Science

Wumeng He, Assistant Professor of Environmental Economics

Ka Leung Lam, Assistant Professor of Environmental Science

Binbin Li, Associate Professor of Environmental Science

Ding Ma, Assistant Professor of Atmospheric and Environmental Science

Xiao Wang, Assistant Professor of Environmental Economics

Junjie Zhang, Professor of Environmental Economics and Policy and Director of Initiative for Sustainable Investment; Professor at the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University

 

Participants from Duke University

Dalia Patiño-Echeverri, Gendell Family Associate Professor of Energy Systems and Public Policy at the Nicholas School of the Environment

Jackson Ewing, Director of Energy and Climate Policy at the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability; Adjunct Associate Professor at the Nicholas School of the Environment; Faculty Lead for the International Master of Environmental Policy (iMEP) Program at Duke Kunshan University

Yichun Fan, Assistant Professor of Climate Economics in Environmental Social Systems at the Nicholas School of the Environment

Liyin He, Assistant Professor of Ecology at the Nicholas School of the Environment

Shineng Hu, Assistant Professor of Climate Dynamics and Assistant Professor in the Division of Marine Science and Conservation at the Nicholas School of the Environment; Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Pratt School of Engineering

Richard Mei, Professor of the Practice of Natural Resource Finance in the Division of Environmental Social Systems and Director of the Natural Resource Finance Initiative at the Nicholas School of the Environment

Robyn Meeks, Mark and Lynne Florian Associate Professor of Public Policy at the Sanford School of Public Policy

Alexander Pfaff, Bernard Rhodes Distinguished Professor of Public Policy, Economics and Environment at the Nicholas School of the Environment; Professor and Affiliate of the Duke Center for International Development in the Sanford School of Public Policy; Professor in the Department of Economics at Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

Stuart Pimm, Doris Duke Distinguished Professor of Conservation Ecology at the Nicholas School of the Environment

Danny Tobin, Post Doctoral Associate at the Nicholas School of the Environment

Jeff Vincent, Clarence F. Korstian Professor of Forest Economics and Management at the Nicholas School of the Environment; Professor and Affiliate of the Duke Center for International Development at the Sanford School of Public Policy

Jonathan Wiener, William R. Perkins Distinguished Professor of Law at Duke Law School; Professor of Environmental Policy at the Nicholas School of the Environment; Professor of Public Policy at the Sanford School of Public Policy; Professor at Duke Kunshan University

Jim Zhang, Professor of Global and Environmental Health and Chair of the Environmental Natural Science Division at the Nicholas School of the Environment

Duke University is committed to creating inclusive and accessible events that encourage all people, including persons living with disabilities, to fully engage in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact nicholasinstitute@duke.edu or 919-660-1793 in advance of your participation or visit. We will do our best to accommodate any requests.

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