Prof. Lin Zhang and his team published a paper titled “Energy-poverty-inequality SDGs: A large-scale household analysis and forecasting in China”, was published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Affordable and clean energy is one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 7). Researchers at City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) discovered that transitioning to clean cooking fuels can significantly promote multiple SDGs, including poverty elimination (SDG 1) and reduced inequality (SDG 10).

Energy transition is often seen as driven by economic growth. This paper shows that it can also reduce inequality and boost income growth. Using data from Chinese households, the team found that a 10% increase in clean cooking fuel use could boost total annual household income by US$37 billion. This income growth is more significant for lower-income groups, helping to reduce income inequality. This study provides crucial insights for accelerating global progress towards the SDGs.

Professor Lin ZHANG and Professor Marcus W. Feldman from Stanford University are the corresponding authors. Mr. Minglai LI, a joint PhD student at CityUHK, is the co-first author.  SEE PhD student Mr. Qiang Li is a co-author of this paper.

The research was supported by the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong, the National Natural Science Foundation of China and others.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2408167121