Ying Yuan is a frontline climate activist and one of the most prominent female leaders from China’s civil society advancing the country’s environmental agenda. Recognized both domestically and internationally as an influential strategist and bridge-builder, she plays a pivotal role in fostering mutual understanding between the global community and China on its environmental progress and the challenges that remain.
As Chief Representative of Greenpeace China, Ying leads one of the most demanding and high-impact environmental missions in the country. Under her leadership, Greenpeace China has demonstrated exceptional creativity, rigor, and adaptability in its campaigns on climate change and biodiversity—catalyzing significant positive change across policy, corporate, and public engagement.
Before joining Greenpeace, Ying was an environmental journalist at Southern Weekly, where she pioneered reporting on climate science and energy transition. Her body of work—including feature stories, investigative reports, and science journalism—has helped shape public discourse on environmental issues in China.
She holds a BA in Economics and an MA in English Literature, and has completed doctoral coursework in climate governance as a PhD candidate at Peking University. She was also a Knight Fellow (2012–2013) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Global Governance Fellow (2014–2015) at the Global Public Policy Institute.