Yu Hongyuan is Professor at the School of Political Science and International Relations at Tongji University, and the former Director of the Institute for Public Policy and Innovation at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies. He also serves as Vice President of the Shanghai Association of Ecological Economy. He is a core member of national expert committees on climate change, low-carbon development, and the Future Earth Project. 

Professor Yu’s research focuses on global climate governance, energy security, and water diplomacy. He has organized several academic dialogues on these topics and more, including the Think Tank 20 International Energy Governance series. He participated in the UN Rio+20 Conference, the 2015 Paris Climate Conference, and the G20 Think Tank Summit. 

Professor Yu has published over 70 academic articles and several influential monographs, including Global Energy-Food-Water System Security and Integrated Response (2023), Strategic Resource Politics and China's Strategies (2016), Challenges and Innovation in the Low-carbon Economy (2015), Environmental Change and Power Transfer (2011), and Global Warming and China's Environmental Diplomacy (2008).