zoeyzhou@ust.hk

HKUST, Clear Water Bay, HK

Welcome! I am an Assistant Professor of Sustainable and Green Finance at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), School of Academy of Interdisciplinary Studies, Division of Environment and Sustainability. Our division prioritizes the creation of a collaborative platform that brings together economists, scientists, and engineers to drive pioneering advancements in sustainability. Here is the link to my official website.

My research primarily focuses on sustainable finance, with a particular emphasis on its applications in corporate finance and banking. Before obtaining my Ph.D. degree in finance, I earned both my master and undergraduate degrees in environmental engineering.

I am co-organizing the HKUST ESG reading group with Professor Chu Zhang, please feel free to email me if you are interested!

Publication

Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis (Forthcoming)

With Bo Huang,  Jiacui Li, Tse-Chun Lin, Mingzhu Tai

Loan officer attention allocation under time constraints hinders financial inclusion.

Journal of Corporate Finance (2022)

With Hongqi Yuan and Joe Hong Zou

Explore state-owned bank's response to governmental countercyclical financing through internal credit rating allocation.

Working Papers

With Tse-Chun Lin and Joe Hong Zou 

Reveal unintended spillovers along the supply chain, which disproportionately impede air quality equity for underprivileged local communities.

Featured in HK Environmental Protection Department policy documents

Single-authored

Uncover how the pressure by climate-conscious shareholders can propagate greenhouse gases to asset owners under less oversight.

Awarded Semi-finalist of Best Paper Award in Corporate Finance, FMA Annual Meeting

     --> Read more:

I am in the process of polishing my paper after having collected great feedback from the job market. The latest version will be coming very soon. Thank you!


Abstract: This paper provides novel evidence on how the pressure of climate-conscious shareholders can propagate emissions to asset owners who are subject to less oversight. Using shareholder proposals, engagement, and activism campaigns, I find firms respond to shareholders' climate scrutiny by divesting greenhouse gas emitting plants. More importantly, such transactions can lead to an increase in emissions at the sold plants if the acquirers are less scrutinized by the climate-conscious shareholders. The increase in emissions is driven by cutting down costly emission abatement activities and is concentrated in plants bought by private independent buyers, sold by firms that have environmental reporting in place, or located in areas with low environmental regulation risks. Overall, the evidence highlights that climate-conscious shareholder oversight plays an important role in the allocation of carbon-intensive assets and the internalization of environmental externalities. 

 [Link]

Work-in-Progress Papers

With Omrane Guedhami and Sadok EI Ghoul

Invited to International Seminar on Connectivity of Asian Voluntary Carbon Markets, Greater Bay Area Climate Forum, International Workshop on Regional Air Quality Management

With Douglas Almond 

Presented at the Review of Finance Special Issue on Biodiversity and Natural Resource Finance Workshop

Other Publications

Carbon Neutrality and Renewable Energy:



Environmental Health and Engineering:



Patent:

Teaching