EEPC was set up in the College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Peking University in January 2007 and relocated to the National School of Development in 2013. In 2018, EEPC was formally housed at the China Center for Environmental and Energy Economics (CCEEE or C2E3) affiliated with the National School of Development (NSD), Peking University.
It is one of the original six Environment for Development (EfD) centers worldwide sponsored by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Sida, with academic and administrative support from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. In 2024, EEPC became one of the EfD's partner centers.
Peking University is one of the pioneer teaching and research institutions in environmental economics, starting in 1988. It is the leading institution for environmental economics and policy research and education in China. The environmental economics and policy program has made tremendous contributions to the advancement of environmental sciences as well as policy making. Many policy recommendations have been adopted by the government. Faculty members of Peking University have been active in the process of international environmental agreements, and have played important roles in international organizations dealing with global environmental issues.
The National School of Development (NSD) at Peking University is a comprehensive college that offers a multidisciplinary environment for teaching and research in economics, management science, and public policy. NSD’s faculty has published numerous academic papers in domestic and international journals. Many professors are China’s leading scholars in their respective fields. It is an internationally recognized networking center for academic exchanges. The NSD is also one of the leading think tanks in China. It brings together research resources within Peking University and regularly participates in China’s policy debates. Over the years, it has produced influential policy advice on important issues concerning industrial policy, rural reconstruction SOE reform, etc. Some have been adopted by the government. The NSD hosts three highly recognized think-tank events: China Economic Observer, NSD Policy Talk, and China Development Forum. It is also the organizer of two second-track dialogues between China and the United States, the US-China Economic Dialogue and the US-China Health Dialogue. In 2016, it was designated by the government as one of the 25 national think tanks.
EEPC has produced results across the fields of environmental economic valuation, pollution control policy, regional environmental management, poverty, and the environment, tenure reform of collective-owned forest, reform of state-owned forest, forest and agricultural carbon sequestration, and the international environment agreement compliance mechanism.
Researchers who are active in the EfD network: