Expertise: China

Xiaohua Zhang

Xiaohua is the Senior Director of ClimateWorks’ China Program where he manages the overall operation of the Program and our direct grantmaking to support climate action in China.

Prior to joining ClimateWorks Foundation, he was the senior policy advisor on climate action and cooperation in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, headed the International Cooperation Department of China’s National Centre for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation and served as program officer of UNFCCC secretariat. He started his career as the assistant researcher in Tsinghua University.

He has a Ph.D in nuclear engineering from Tsinghua University.

Charles McElwee

Charlie McElwee is the Vice President of Programs at ClimateWorks Foundation. At ClimateWorks he helps direct funding to support public policies that prevent dangerous climate change and promote prosperity in the geographic regions that have the greatest potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. McElwee practiced environmental and energy law for over 25 years at an international law firm, including five years in Shanghai. He developed an expertise in Chinese environmental and energy law and policy and served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Shanghai Jiaotong University’s School of Law. He won the President’s Prize, the University’s highest award, for extraordinary contributions to the University, and was awarded the Shanghai Municipal Government’s Magnolia Award, the highest honor the city bestows upon foreigners. He is a board member of the International Council on Clean Transportation, the Climate and Land Use Alliance, and serves on the China Advisory Board of the Environmental Defense Fund. His book, Environmental Law in China, was published by Oxford University Press in 2011.