State Environmental Protection Agency

The National Environmental Protection Agency was a former direct institution under the State Council of the People's Republic of China, established in December 1984. It succeeded the Environmental Protection Bureau under the former Ministry of Urban and Rural Development and Environmental Protection of the People's Republic of China. The agency was responsible for implementing unified supervision and management of environmental protection nationwide in accordance with laws and administrative regulations. It aimed to prevent and control pollution and other public nuisances, protect and improve the living environment and ecological environment, and promote sustainable, coordinated, and healthy development of the economy and society. In June 1998, the National Environmental Protection Agency was upgraded to the State Environmental Protection Administration.