Author’s Note: At the National Conference on Education, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the comprehensive implementation of the strategy for invigorating China through science and education, the strategy on developing a quality workforce, and the innovation-driven development strategy, the promotion of the integrated development of education, science and technology, talents. Since the 5th Party Congress of CUEB, the university has actively promoted reforms in the scientific research institutions and mechanisms, conducted organized research, and implemented the “Summit Project” to improve the quality of research. The Publicity Department (News Center) of CUEB will launch a series of “Research Climbing Summit” plans to demonstrate how the university’s high-level research teams proactively align with the country’s major strategies and Beijing’s development in the new era, engaging in forward-looking, strategic, and applied research practices.

Promoting the realization of “Carbon Peaking” and “Carbon Neutrality” (hereinafter “dual carbon”) is an important institutional arrangement by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council to strengthen ecological civilization and promote high-quality development. Beijing is a key area for achieving dual carbon goals nationwide, actively planning to achieve “carbon neutrality” through innovation-driven development, which necessitates more high-end intellectual support. At this critical juncture of dual carbon construction, the School of Economics seized the opportunity to establish the “Dual Carbon Strategy and Sustainable Development Research Team.”

In recent years, the team has been awarded over 80 high-level research projects, including major projects funded by National Social Science Foundation of China, key projects funded by National Social Science Foundation of China, and general projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. In terms of academic papers, the team has published more than 500 specialized papers in leading economic journals at home and abroad such as Economic Research Journal, Journal of Management World, China Industrial Economics, and Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization. Regarding monographs, the team has focused on research related to the allocation of China’s total carbon emissions and emission indicators, environmental governance and economic growth, and energy conservation and emission reduction and high-quality development. They have published over 70 academic books through renowned domestic and international publishers. The team’s monograph, Price Analysis of China’s Carbon Emissions, won the first prize of outstanding achievements in Beijing Philosophy and Social Sciences and more than ten other awards. Some of the team’s representative research achievements are as follows:

The team has successively undertaken more than 30 consulting projects commissioned by national departments such as the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Ministry of Commerce, and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, submitting over 40 research reports and providing more than 20 policy references. In 2016, they contributed to the formulation of the program to advance ecological conservation and environmental protection along the Yangtze Economic Belt, with some ideas incorporated into Ecological Environmental Protection Plan of Yangtze River Economic Belt. From 2016 to 2018, the research group completed three reports, including Research on the Opportunities and Challenges of the Comprehensive Catalogue for Environmental Protection under the Reform of Stationary Source Environmental Management System, which provided important theoretical support for the introduction of the Comprehensive Catalogue for Environmental Protection (2017). In 2019, the group participated in the preliminary research for the formulation of the 14th Five-Year Plan for the Protection of Ecological Environment, providing crucial references for the high-quality development of key strategic regions.

In terms of academic exchange and cooperation, the team has hosted the national academic conference “China Environmental Economics Forum” for three consecutive years, providing a high-level platform for scholars engaged in dual carbon strategy and sustainable development research. This forum promotes the carbon neutrality goal and the transition to high-quality economic development. Currently, the research team has become an important distinctive research base in this field within China.

Team Leader: Wang Wenju

Wang Wenju is currently the Secretary of CUEB Party Committee, a Second-level Professor of Economics, and a Doctoral supervisor of Quantitative Economics. He also serves as the Vice Chairman of the Chinese Association of Quantitative Economics and the Deputy Director of the Economic and Trade Undergraduate Teaching Steering Committee of the Ministry of Education. Wang is a recipient of the Subsidy Expert of the State Council, a winner of Huo Yingdong Young Teacher Award, a leader of Beijing Municipal Higher Education Young Teachers, a candidate for Beijing New Century “National Hundred, Thousand, and Ten Thousand Talents Project”, and a qualified personnel of “Four Batches of Talents Award” in Beijing Public Communication and Culture System. He was titled “Outstanding Scholar of Quantitative Economics in China” by the Chinese Quantitative Economics Association.

The team consists of over 30 full-time researchers, including Du Wencui, a Beijing Distinguished Teacher of Higher Education; Jiang Xuemei, a young Beijing scholar; Zhang Dongyang, a Beijing high-level personnel with overseas experience and other key professors. See the core members as follows.

Du Wencui

Du Wencui is a Professor and Doctoral Supervisor at CUEB, and Dean of the School of Economics. She has been recognized as a Beijing Distinguished Young Teacher of Higher Education, a pioneer of the Beijing Municipal Education System for teaching and educating. She serves as a Vice President of the Economics Association of Beijing, Standing Director of the China Association for the Study of Foreign Economics, and a Vice Secretary and Chairman of the Foreign Economics Association of Beijing. Du’s team has completed five provincial and ministerial-level projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation and the National Social Science Fund of China and so on, and published more than 70 academic papers in core journals at home and abroad, and four academic monographs.

Jiang Xuemei

Jiang Xuemei, Professor and Doctoral Supervisor at the School of Economics, CUEB. Her research focuses on low-carbon economics and quantitative economics. She has published two monographs, and over 60 papers in high-profile journals including Global Environmental Change, Ecological Economics, Statistical Research, Journal of Management Sciences in China, etc. She has led four projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation and over 10 provincial and ministerial-level key projects. The policy research reports she has authored have received commendations and directives on many occasions. She has been selected for several provincial and ministerial talent programs, including the Beijing Young Scholar.

Zhang Dongyang

Zhang Dongyang, Professor and Doctoral Supervisor at the School of Economics, CUEB, as well as Vice Director of the Personnel Office. He has been recognized as an Overseas High-level Returned Talent from Beijing and a Beijing Young Scholar. His research focuses on applied micro-econometrics and environmental economics. From 2022 to 2023, he was selected consecutively as the top 2% of global leading scientists listed by Stanford University and Elsevier Highly Cited Chinese Researchers. Since January 2020, he has served as the deputy editor of “Finance Research Letters”, leading and participating in more than ten national and provincial-level scientific research projects. He has published over 80 academic papers as the primary author or the first author in authoritative journals such as the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Energy Economics, China Economic Review, Public Finance Research, and Economic Theory and Business Management.

Yan Yunfeng

Yan Yunfeng, Professor and Doctoral Supervisor at the School of Economics, CUEB. She serves as a Leader of University’s backup discipline, Chairman of Beijing Chamber of International Commerce. Her research focuses on global value chains, low-carbon economics, and digital trade. She teaches “International Business”, “Incoterms”, and “International Settlement” and other courses. She has directed two projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation, six provincial and ministerial-level research projects supported by the Ministry of Education and the Beijing Social Science Fund.She has published two monographs and over 50 academic papers as the first author.

Shen Meng

Shen Meng, Professor and Doctoral Supervisor at the School of Economics, CUEB. He graduated from the Business School at Beijing Normal University, and is a joint training Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Economics, Columbia University. His research focuses on environment, health, and economic sustainability. He is a visiting scholar at the University of California, San Diego, and Italian Marche Polytechnic University. He is honored as a Young Core Teacher of CUEB. He has led national and provincial-level research projects funded by the National Social Science Fund of China, Humanities and Social Science Fund of the Ministry of Education, Humanities and Social Science Fund of Beijing, The Third National Economic Census Projects, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the PRC. He has been selected for the Beijing Municipal Education Commission of Distinguished Young Scholars. He has published 20 papers in The Journal of World Economy, Statistical Research, China Economic Review, as well as other journals.

Kong Xiaoxu

Kong Xiaoxu, Associate Professor and Master’s Supervisor at the School of Economics, CUEB. Her research focuses on low-carbon economy and sustainable development. She has led one project supported by the National Social Science Fund of China, and participated in several major projects and post-doctoral funding projects of the National Social Science Fund. She has published two monographs, and over 30 papers in journals such as Journal of Management World, The Journal of Quantitative & Technical Economics, Reform, and Research in International Business and Finance.