Shanghai Center for Energy Saving and Emission Reduction – Jing Yuan – 2025

Summary

Yuan Jing supported the city’s low-carbon transition through research on electricity pricing policies, strategic studies, and the design of digital tools.

Goals

Yuan Jing, a master’s candidate at Peking University, served as a Climate Corps fellow at the Shanghai Center for Energy Saving and Emission Reduction (ESER). Her fellowship aimed to evaluate residential electricity pricing policies in large metropolitan areas, analyze challenges in global deep-sea resource development, support strategic planning for an energy enterprise, and design digital tools for energy and power project management; advancing urban low-carbon development goals through evidence-based research and practical methodologies.

Solutions

During her fellowship, Yuan Jing participated in four projects. She examined the fairness and affordability of residential electricity pricing in a major metropolitan area, forecasted electricity demand through 2035, and proposed optimization strategies for peak-off-peak pricing. She researched global deep-sea resource development, identifying technical, environmental, and governance bottlenecks to inform sustainable utilization. She also benchmarked domestic and international energy companies to propose potential transformation pathways for a local energy enterprise. Finally, she designed an Excel template and a web dashboard to enhance progress monitoring and performance evaluation for energy and power projects. These efforts provided policy analysis, strategic insights, and practical tools for local energy management.

Potential Impact

If implemented, Yuan Jing’s research could enhance the fairness and adaptability of urban electricity pricing mechanisms, making them better aligned with re-electrification trends while ensuring affordability for residents. Research on deep-sea and offshore areas could provide insights for the balanced utilization of marine resources. Corporate strategy studies could guide energy companies in adapting to carbon neutrality policies. Energy and power project management tools would help strengthen project tracking and accountability. Collectively, these outcomes support Shanghai’s ongoing efforts to enhance energy efficiency, improve governance, and advance low-carbon development.