Alex Wang is a Professor of Law at UCLA School of Law and a Faculty Co-Director of the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment. His research focuses on the law and politics of Chinese environmental governance.
His work has examined Chinese climate policy, US-China environmental cooperation and competition, environmental bureaucracy, information disclosure, public interest litigation, the role of state-owned enterprises in environmental governance, and symbolic uses of governance reform.
Prior to joining UCLA Law, Dr. Wang was a senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) based in Beijing and the founding director of NRDC’s China Environmental Law & Governance Project. In that capacity, he worked with China’s government agencies, legal community, and environmental groups to improve environmental laws and strengthen the role of the public in environmental protection.
Dr. Wang is a member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and the Council on Foreign Relations, a board member of the Environmental Law Institute, and a Co-Chair of the Faculty Advisory Committee of the California-China Climate Institute.
Education:
B.S. Biology, 1993, Duke University
J.D. 2000, New York University
Interests:
Chinese climate policy, U.S.-China environmental cooperation and competition, environmental bureaucracy, information disclosure, public interest litigation, the role of state-owned enterprises in environmental governance, and symbolic uses of governance reform.
Selected Publications:
M. Davidson, V. Karplus, J. Lewis, J. Nahm & Alex Wang, “Risks of Decoupling from China on Low-Carbon Technologies,” Science (2022).
Alex Wang, “Is U.S.-China Climate Action Possible in an Era of Mistrust?” in China Questions II, Harvard University Press (2022).
Alex Wang, “Symbolic Legitimacy and Chinese Environmental Reform,” 48 Environmental Law 699 (2018).
Alex Wang, “Explaining Environmental Information Disclosure in China,” 44 Ecology Law Quarterly 865 (2018).
Alex Wang, “Regulating Domestic Carbon Outsourcing: The Case of China and Climate Change,” 61 UCLA Law Review 2018 (2014).