导师风采
南开大学环境科学与工程学院教授、博导，入选国家级青年人才计划、南开大学百名青年学科带头人计划。主要从事产业生态、物质流分析、生命周期评估、环境系统分析、气候韧性等领域的研究。博士毕业于中国科学院地理科学与资源研究所，曾任比利时荷语区安特卫普大学长聘教轨助理教授，并曾在美国西北大学和丹麦南丹麦大学从事研究工作。在Nature Climate Change、Nature Sustainability、One Earth、Nature Communications、Environmental Science & Technology等资源环境类顶级期刊发表论文，相关研究成果被国际能源署（IEA）、联合国政府间气候变化专门委员会（IPCC）、联合国环境规划署（UNEP）等直接使用和引用。担任Resources,Conservation & Recycling等期刊的编辑，兼任国际产业生态学会（ISIE）社会经济代谢分会理事、华人产业生态学会（CSIE）理事、巴塞尔公约亚太区域中心化学品和废物环境管理智库专家、联合国世界车辆法规协调论坛（WP.29）中国工作委员会技术专家、气候债券倡议组织（CBI）低碳水泥标准委员会委员、中国自然资源学会政策研究专业委员会理事。
学院个人主页：https://env.nankai.edu.cn/2023/0224/c14180a505076/page.htm
课题组网站：https://www.x-mol.com/groups/safari
可持续与气候韧性环境系统分析研究组（Systems Analysis For sustainability And climate ResIlience, SAFARI；https://www.x-mol.com/groups/safari）一直致力于完善、拓展和应用物质代谢分析方法和可持续性评估方法，研究物质在社会经济系统中的流动、转化、蓄积和报废，评估由此产生的环境影响以及材料的再生循环潜力，并据此提出不同时空尺度社会经济可持续转型的策略。具体研究问题和案例覆盖全球和区域水泥建材存量与未来供需、建成环境与基础设施低碳发展、城市矿山开发潜力、新兴能源技术对关键稀缺材料供需的影响等多个领域。专注于“如何评估、预测与调控不同社会经济系统中物质代谢及相关资源环境影响？”这一关键科学问题，开展了多年基础性、延续性研究。
主持或参与多项国自科项目
仅列出部分代表性成果，详情请参考Google Scholar主页：https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=Hj-kD_sAAAAJ&view_op=list_works
Song, L., van Ewijk, S., Masanet, E., Watari, T., Meng, F., Cullen, J., Cao, Z.*, and Chen, W*. (2023). China’s bulk material loops can be closed but deep decarbonization requires demand reduction. Nature Climate Change, 1-8.
Wang, Z., Wiedenhofer, D., Stephan, A., Perrotti, D., Van den bergh, W., and Cao, Z*. (2023). High-resolution mapping of material stocks in Belgian road infrastructure: material efficiency patterns, material recycling potentials, and greenhouse gas emissions reduction opportunities. Environmental Science & Technology, 57(34), 12674-12688.
Wu, T., Ng, S. T.*, Chen, J., & Cao, Z*. (2023). More intensive use and lifetime extension can enable net-zero emissions in China’s cement cycle. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 198, 107144.
Watari, T.*, Cao, Z.*, Hata, S. and Nansai, K. (2022). Efficient use of cement and concrete to reduce reliance on supply-side technologies for net-zero emissions. Nature Communications, 13(1), 4158.
Cao, Z., & Masanet, E. (2022). Material efficiency to tackle the sand crisis. Nature Sustainability, 5(5), 370-371. (News & Views)
Cao, Z., Myers, R.J., Lupton, R.C., Duan, H., Sacchi, R., Zhou, N., Miller, T.R., Cullen, J.M., Ge, Q., & Liu, G. (2020). The sponge effect and carbon emission mitigation potentials of the global cement cycle. Nature Communications, 11(1), 3777.
Cao, Z., O’Sullivan, C., Tan, J., Kalvig, P., Ciacci, L., Chen, W., Kim, J., & Liu, G. (2019). Resourcing the fairytale country with wind power: a dynamic material flow analysis. Environmental Science & Technology, 53(19), 11313-11322.
Cao, Z., Liu, G., Zhong, S., Dai, H., & Pauliuk, S. (2018). Integrating Dynamic Material Flow Analysis and Computable General Equilibrium Models for Both Mass and Monetary Balances in Prospective Modeling: A Case for the Chinese Building Sector. Environmental Science & Technology, 53(1), 224-233.
Cao, Z., Shen, L., Løvik, A. N., Müller, D. B., & Liu, G. (2017). Elaborating the history of our cementing societies: an in-use stock perspective. Environmental Science & Technology, 51(19), 11468-11475.
Cao, Z., Shen, L., Zhong, S., Liu, L., Kong, H., & Sun, Y. (2018). A probabilistic dynamic material flow analysis model for Chinese urban housing stock. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 22(2), 377-391.
