An ecologist and environmental economist by training, Tao is a veteran with an insider’s perspective on China's environmental policy. With almost two decades of experience of working at the Policy Research Center of China's Ministry of Environmental Protection, Tao has witnessed and participated in the formulation of a wide array of national environmental policy recommendations. Ranging from smartly pricing natural resources to boost efficiency and cut down pollution to streamlining the environmental management systems to minimize bureaucracy and empower enforcement agencies, he has been a witness to and involved in much of China’s recent environmental policy making. This experience has taught him that environmental policy is only effective when informed by and built on solid economic thinking.
Tao is a pioneer in China focusing on environmental issues arising out of international trade. He was the chief expert of a special technical team that provided support for China's negotiation on trade and environment issues under the Committee of Trade and Environment (CTE) of WTO. Tao also advised on China's Environmental Goods and Services (EGS) negotiation in Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).
“Given China's rapid rise in international trade and investment in recent years, China has a significant role to play in promoting sustainability worldwide,” Tao says. “We need to envision solutions that channel and harness these emerging market forces to ensure that China’s growth not only adds to people's material wellbeing but also protects the health of our natural world.”
