Associate Professor Xiaohang Ren, a Researcher of the Base, has had his collaborative paper "Driving a green future: Spatial econometric analysis of climate finance aid in renewable energy transition in developing countries" published in the important academic journal Economic Analysis and Policy.

Economic Analysis and Policy is an economics journal that focuses on policy-relevant research and practical applications across various fields of economics. 

Abstract: Climate assistance plays a crucial role in supporting the mitigation and adaptation efforts of developing countries, particularly in fostering renewable energy transitions and enhancing energy security. This study evaluates climate aid's effectiveness using data from 88 developing countries between 2000 and 2020, applying a Spatial Durbin model. The results show that climate fund significantly boosts renewable energy development, primarily by improving political governance in recipient countries. Mitigation fund has a more substantial impact than adaptation finance. Additionally, countries that are more vulnerable to climate change benefit more from climate aid, while those with higher levels of social globalization struggle to fully utilize these resources. Notably, the study identifies negative spatial spillover effects, where climate fund in one country may hinder renewable energy development in neighboring countries. These insights are valuable for policymakers seeking to optimize climate aid and promote sustainable energy security.

Keywords: Climate assistance;Energy security;Renewable energy transition;Spatial Durbin model;Sustainable development

Link:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eap.2025.04.011

Teacher profile

Xiaohang Ren is a Distinguished Associate Professor at the Business School, Central South University, an Elsevier China Highly Cited Researcher, and a Top 2% Scientist Worldwide. He mainly engages in research on energy finance, financial risk, and financial econometrics. He has published more than 100 papers in authoritative journals at home and abroad,including Journal of the American Statistical Association,Transportation Research Part A, Energy Economics, Quantitative Finance, Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, International Review of Financial Analysis, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Business Strategy and the Environment, Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Applied Energy, Resources Policy, Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, Energy, Journal of Management Sciences in China (English Edition), Systems Engineering — Theory and Practice, and Chinese Journal of Management Science. Among these, more than 30 are ESI Hot Papers/Highly Cited Papers. He serves as Section Editor of Sustainable Communities (Taylor & Francis), Associate Editor of journals such as Humanities & Social Sciences Communications (the only humanities and social sciences journal under Nature), and Guest Editor of several SSCI journals including Climate Change Economics and Economic Change and Restructuring.