The Environmental Protection Law at China’s environmental legislative system
China’s system of environmental legislation is established based on the Environmental Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China that was enacted in 1989. Under this law, other separate laws have been enacted for controlling pollution. Some of these laws are as follows:
China updated the Environmental Protection Law in 2015. This was the first major revisions. The revised law includes stricter punishments on polluters. It also allows non-governmental organizations to file environmental lawsuits against violators. The National People’s Congress revised other laws, including the Law on the Prevention and control of Air Pollution in 2018 and the Law on the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution in 2017. The Congress also adopted the Law on the Prevention and Control of Soil Pollution on August 31, 2018.
Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution was enacted in 1987 and amended in 1995, 2000, 2015 and 2018. This Law is formulated in order to prevent and control atmospheric pollution, protect and improve people’s environment and the ecological environment, safeguard human health, and promote the sustainable development of economy and society. The concentration of the discharged pollutants may not exceed the standards prescribed by the State and local authorities. The quality standards for products containing volatile organic compounds, such as coal, petroleum coke, biomass fuel, and coatings, fireworks and firecrackers, boilers, etc., are developed and the atmospheric environment protection requirements are specified.
The environmental legislative framework to protect the air pollution is as follows.
Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution
Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution is formulated in order to prevent and control water pollution, protecting and improving the environment, and safeguarding the safety of drinking water.
The environmental legislative framework to protect the water pollution is as follows.
Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution
Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste is the national primary law governing municipal and industrial waste management. This law lays out basic requirements for solid waste disposal for industrial facilities. It requires the specified facilities to get approval from the local environmental protection bureau for waste disposal plans prior to construction. The bureaus are also responsible for issuing permits for the collection, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste.
The environmental legislative framework on waste management is as follows.
Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste
Industrial chemicals are mainly regulated by the following regulations in China:
“Decree of the State Council No 591 Regulations on Safe Management of Hazardous Chemicals”
“Order of the Ministry of Environmental Protection No. 7 Environmental Management of New Chemical Substances”
Pursuant to article 15 of the Decree No 591, manufacturers of hazardous chemicals shall provide safety data sheet on the hazardous chemicals that are produced, post or affix a chemical safety label on the package. The contents in safety data sheet and chemical safety labels should meet the requirements of relevant national standards. The relevant standards in China are as follows:
On April 29, 2020, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People’s Republic of China (MEE) issued the final Measures on Registrations of New Chemical Substances for Environmental Management under Ministry Order No. 12. The new Measures replaces the current 2010 version and comes into force on January 1, 2021, when the Order No.7 will be repealed.
Same as the current version, the new Measures require manufacturers and importers to register new chemical substances with MEE before placing the new chemical substances on the Chinese market. They also introduce a notification process for new uses of existing listed substances.
Law on the Safety of Hazardous Chemicals (Revision draft for solicitation of comments)
In order to strengthen the safety management of hazardous chemicals, prevent and reduce hazardous chemical accidents, the Ministry of Emergency Management organized the consultation on the draft of the “Law on the Safety of Hazardous Chemicals”, which had been open to the public comments until 1 November, 2020. If approved, it will replace Decree No. 591.
The draft law is applicable to the safety management of the production, storage, use, operation, transportation and disposal of hazardous chemicals. It consists of 11 chapters (Article 137), and based on the lessons learned from the explosion accident, “Safety of hazardous chemical disposal” etc. was added to clarify the responsibility for safety supervision of the disposal (Disposal safety). The State implements a hazardous chemical registration system.
Framework of EHS laws and regulations in China.
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In May 2024, China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and other central government departments published a white paper on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the country …
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On May 16, 2023, the Extended Producer Responsibility Technology and Innovation Alliance, a Chinese nonprofit organization, released a 2023 white paper on China’s waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) industry. …
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On April 25, 2024, the Municipal Ecology and Environment Bureau of Beijing, China, published a local standard called the Guideline for the Preparation of Soil Pollution Prevention and Control Plan …
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On April 30, 2024, the National Road Transportation Standardization Technical Committee1, a branch of China’s Ministry of Transport, published a draft transportation industry standard called the Technical Specifications for Road …
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In May 2024, the Emergency Management Bureau of Shanghai, China, published a draft revised local standard for tracking codes of hazardous chemicals (DB31/T 1250). According to a source familiar with …
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On March 15, 2024, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the State Standardization Administration of China released the amended voluntary national standard “Reuse of urban recycled water-Water quality standard …
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On May 9,2024, the Chinese State Council announced the “2024 Legislative Work Plan”. According to the plan, the draft of the Law on Safety Management of Hazardous Chemicals will be …
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On April 12, 2024, the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE), Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) and Beijing Stock Exchange (BSE) published guidelines for sustainability reports by listed companies. These set out requirements …
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On March 21, 2024, China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment published on its website a new national standard for the nomenclature of chemicals relevant to environmental management. Its English title …
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On March 25, 2024, the All-China Environment Federation, a non-profit Chinese organization, published guidelines for the implementation and evaluation of zero-waste entities as an association standard. The standard came into …
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On March 27, 2024, the Provincial People’s Congress of Jiangsu province, China, published local regulations on ecological and environmental protection, which will come into effect June 5, 2024. These are …
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The Standing Committee of the Provincial People’s Congress of Shandong province, China, adopted regulations on Yellow River protection at its eighth session, and published it March 27, 2024. These regulations …
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On April 8, 2024, China’s Industry and Information Technology announced a plan to revise the country’s mandatory national standards that set limits on hazardous substance content in coating materials used …
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On March 28, 2024, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation published “opinions” on carrying out an action plan to promote green, low-carbon, high-quality boilers. The opinions are based on the …
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On Feb. 27, 2023, the Department of Ecology and Environment of Hainan province, China, issued experimental provincial measures that implements a “carbon inclusion”1 program, which came into effect immediately. “Carbon …
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On March 27, 2024, the All-China Environment Federation published a draft association standard called the Guideline on N-methylpyrrolidone Emission Accounting and Control Techniques of Prevention for Lithium Ion Battery Production …
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On March 20, 2024, the State Council of China issued the “Regulations on Water Conservation”, which is the first national-level regulations on water conservation in China. The Regulations will take …
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On March 29, 2024, China’s Ministry of Finance published draft measures to create a special fund for incentives for the disposal of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). This fund …
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On February 29, 2024, the Ministry of Emergency Management of China issued a “3-year (2024~2026) action plan for strengthening occupational safety management in the chemical industry and industries handling hazardous …
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On Feb. 26, 2024, the Municipal Ecology and Environment Bureau of Shenzhen, China, issued experimental municipal measures on the transfer form for the transportation of general industrial solid waste. These …
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On March 13, 2024, China’s State Council announced an action plan to promote the replacement of large-scale equipment and consumer goods with newer products. It includes several targets and main …
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On Feb. 29, 2024, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other six central government departments issued “guiding opinions” on accelerating the green transformation of the manufacturing sector. These …
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On April 1, 2024, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment promulgated the revised version of the Measures on Pollutant Discharge Permits. The revised Measures will come into effect on July …
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On Feb. 29, 2024, the Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment of Shanghai, China, issued mandatory local standard called the Discharge Standards of Pollutants for Semiconductor Industry (DB 31/ 374-2024). …
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On March 11, 2024, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced that it started accepting 2024 applications for designation as a model manufacturer of recycled chemical fibers. Applicants need …
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On Feb. 8, 2024, China’s National Health Commission and State Administration for Market Regulation published a standard for the concentration and migration of chemicals in adhesives used on direct and …
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On Feb 22, 2024, China’s Ministry of Emergency Management announced on its website a three-year action plan for work safety for 2024–2026. The action plan includes work safety standards development, …
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In January 2024, China’s Ministry of Water Resources announced a program for the protection and utilization of the coasts of the major lake and rivers in the Taihu (Lake Tai) …
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During the “13th Five-Year Plan” period (2016-2020), the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the “Healthy China 2030” Planning Outline, proposing the overall …
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On March 12, 2024, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information technology published a draft revision of a mandatory national standard for GHS implementation, titled “Rules for classification and labelling of …
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On Feb. 18, 2024, China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment and other ministries announced a national program for collecting proposals of key low-carbon technologies and promoting them. In relation to …
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On March 19, 2024, China’s State Council issued regulations on the protection of consumer rights and interests. These are based on the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and …
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On Feb. 7, 2024, China’s State Counsil issued revised Measures on Emergency Response Plans, which came into effect immediately, replacing the 2013 version. These measures classify emergency response plans into …
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China identifies weather with Air Quality Index (AQI) greater than 200 as heavy pollution weather and above. At the routine press conference of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of …
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On January 4, 2024, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China released the draft amendment to the national standard “Identification standards for solid wastes -General rules” (GB 34330-2017) and …
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On Jan. 30, 2024, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued measures on the phased nurturing and management of green factories, which came into effect immediately. These measures set …
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On Jan. 24, 2024, China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment published a List of Types and Codes of Solid Waste. This list aims to fully implement solid waste management in …
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On Dec. 22, 2023, China’s National Certification and Accreditation Administration published revised general rules for the grading and certification of green construction materials, which came into effect Jan. 1, 2024. …
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On Jan. 24, 2024, the Emergency Management Bureau and other government departments of Beijing, China, announced a 2024 version of bans, restrictions and controls on hazardous chemicals. These regulations are …
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On Feb. 5, 2024, China’s Ministry of Commerce, other government departments and a national organization issued a circular on developing sound recycling systems for furniture, home appliances and other recyclable …
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On Dec. 25, 2023, the China Chemical Safety Association published two association standards called the Technical Specification for Coding and Labeling of Hazardous Chemicals (T/CCSAS 047-2023) and the Technical Specification …
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On Jan. 27, 2024, China’s National Development and Reform Commission, National Bureau of Statistics and National Energy Administration jointly issued a circular on promoting non-fossil energy through the integration of …
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On Jan. 17, 2024, China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment published a national ecological and environmental standard called the Technical Specification for Vehicle Environmental Information Disclosure (HJ 1350-2024) with the …
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On Jan. 22, 2024, China’s National Certification and Accreditation Administration announced a comprehensive update to the test standards for China RoHS conformity assessment, replacing the GB/T 26125 standard with the …
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On Jan. 16, 2024, China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment published proposals for regulating certain mercury-added products according to the decisions of the Fifth Conference of Parties (COP5) to the …
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On February 12, the State Administration for Market Regulation of China notified a draft of a mandatory national standard (GB) entitled “Household and similar electrical appliances – Energy saving and …
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On February 12, 2024, the State Administration for Market Regulation notified WTO of a draft mandatory national standard entitled “Household and similar electrical appliances – Health safety specification” and started …
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On January 18, 2024, the Ministry of Transport of China promulgated the revised “Regulation on the transport of dangerous goods by air”. The revised Regulation will take effect from July …
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On Feb. 9, 2024, China’s Certification and Accreditation Administration made a WTO/TBT notification of a draft revision of the mandatory national standard, “Safety of Toys – Part 1: Basic code”. …
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On Dec. 29, 2023, the China Household Electrical Appliances Association published a general standard and two product-specific standards for the carbon footprint calculation of home appliances: Guidelines for Carbon Footprint …
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On Jan. 9, 2024, The Department of Finance and the Department of Ecology and Environment of Jiangsu province, China, issued “Experimental Provincial Measures on Incentives for Zero-Waste City Development“, which …
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On Dec. 29, 2023, the Standing Committee of the Municipal People’s Congress of Shanghai, China, published draft municipal regulations on zero-waste city development. The city sought comments on the draft …
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On February 4, 2024, the Shanghai Municipal Emergency Management Bureau and the Transportation Commission jointly issued the “Notice on promoting the informatization management of inbound and outbound management, loading and …
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On Dec. 31, 2023, China’s Shandong province announced a Provincial Action Plan for Climate Change Response toward 2035. This plan sets out targets for 2025, 2030 and 2035 along with …
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On Dec. 19, 2023, the All-China Environment Federation, a Chinese nonprofit organization, released a draft association standard that provides guidelines for the establishment and evaluation of zero-waste entities. The draft …
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On Dec. 29, 2023, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced a pilot program for “Corporate Green Barcode” that shows “Green Levels” (environmental status) of green factories. Companies can …
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On Dec. 27, 2023, China’s Shandong province published “Provincial measures on the management of chemical industrial parks“. This is a revision of the previous version issued in 2020. It will …
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On December 18, 2023, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China announced the addition of 25 registered new chemical substances to the List of Existing Chemical Substances on its …
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On Jan. 16, 2024, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced a relaxation of import and export regulations on low-concentration triethanolamine mixtures, effective Feb. 1, 2024. This relaxation measure …
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On Dec. 19, 2023, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released a 2023 plan for a comprehensive standards development program for the solar power industry to seek comments. In …
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On Dec. 28, 2023, China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment published a draft revised National List of Hazardous Waste, which has been developed for more effective environmental management of hazardous …
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On Dec. 27, 2023, China’s National Development and Reform Commission published the 2024 edition of the Industrial Structure Adjustment Guidance List ― a national list of industrial fields, operations, equipment, …
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On December 18, 2023, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China announced the addition of four new chemicals to the List of Existing Chemical Substances on its website.
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On December 28, 2023, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Commerce and other 4 departments jointly issued the “Announcement on optimizing service management measures for certain products containing …
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On Dec. 19, 2023, China’s State Council announced revised regulations on ozone-depleting substances (ODSs). These are designed to implement the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete …
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On January 10, 2024, the Ministry of Emergency Management released the revised “Provisions on fines and penalties for production safety accidents”. The Provisions will come into effect on March 1, …
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On Nov. 27, 2023, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation published a mandatory national standard (GB), “Indoor Decorating and Refurbishing Materials—Limit of Harmful Substances of Wallpapers” (GB 18585-2023). This is …
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On December 8, 2023, the Ministry of Emergency Management of China announced the revised “Safety regulations for work in confined spaces in industrial and trade enterprises”. The revised Regulations will …
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On November 29, 2023, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the State Administration for Market Regulation released the “Product catalog for energy efficiency labeling in China (16th Batch) …
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On December 7, 2023, the China’s State Council published the “Action plan for continuous improvement of air quality”. The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and neighboring areas, Yangtze River Delta, and Fenwei Plain …
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On November 24, 2023, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and other four central government departments jointly issued the “Opinions on accelerating the establishment of product carbon footprint management …
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On Nov. 24, 2023, China’s Zhejiang province issued provincial regulations on soil contamination control at the 14th Standing Committee of the Provincial People’s Congress. The regulations, which consist of seven …
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On Nov. 20, 2023, the China National Institute of Standardization published a draft revised recommended national standard called the General Principles for Monitoring and Testing of Energy Saving (GB/T 15316). …
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On Nov. 10, 2023, China’s Ministry of Transport announced a partial revision of the Provisions on the Road Transportation of Dangerous Goods, effective immediately. This revision makes changes to reference …
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On November 24, 2023, the Shenzhen Municipal Ecology and Environment Bureau issued the “Implementation plan of promoting carbon trading to support carbon peak and carbon neutrality”. The plan sets out …
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On Nov. 30, 2023, China’s Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration published on its website guidelines for the water transportation of lithium batteries as dangerous goods, with the aim of ensuring the …
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On Nov. 27, 2023, China’s Standardization Administration published a recommended national standard, “Specification for Classification and Labelling of Chemicals Part 31: Precautionary Label for Workplace of Chemicals” (GB/T 30000.31-2023), which …
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On Dec. 5, 2023, China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued principles for the review and approval of environmental impact assessment (EIA) reports for facility construction in the following industries: …
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On Dec. 7, 2023, China released the Automotive Industry Green and Low-Carbon Development Roadmap 1.01. The China Society of Automotive Engineers and China Automotive Technology and Research Center Co., Ltd. …
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On Nov. 27, 2023, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology published drafts of the following revised national standards for the safety of toys: Toys Safety — Part1:Basic Code Safety …
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On Nov. 17, 2023, the Department of Ecology and Environment of Guangdong province, China, published 2023 versions of calculation methods for the reduction of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from …
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On Nov. 15, 2023, the Department of Ecology and Environment of Hebei province, China, published three water pollutant discharge local standards for the Yongding River Basin (DB13/5880-2023), Chaobai River Basin …
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On November 10, 2023, the National Development and Reform Commission of China published the “List of products subject to water efficiency labeling (4th batch)” and the “Implementation rules for water …
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On October 20, 2023, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDPR) of China published the “National carbon-peaking pilot construction plan” based on the requirements of the “Action plan for carbon …
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On October 19, 2023, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China promulgated the “Measures for the management of voluntary emissions reduction trading of greenhouse gases (Trial)”. It means that …
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On Nov. 7, 2023, China’s Ministry of Emergency Management published on its website draft revised rules for the safety oversight of serious chemical hazard sources. The ministry is seeking comments …
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On Nov. 17, 2023, China’s National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation published on its website experimental registration rules for voluntary greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction projects and …
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On Oct. 24, 2023, China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued the following four sets of methodologies for voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction projects: Afforestation and Carbon Sinks (CCER-14-001-V01) Grid-connected …
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To strengthen the management of sewage outfalls into water bodies, the Ecology and Environment of China issued three ecology and environment standards on technical guidelines for the supervision and management …
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On Oct. 18, 2023, China’s National Standardization Technical Committee on Environmental Management published a draft revision of a recommended national standard called the General Principles for Green Product Assessment (GB/T …
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On Nov. 6, 2023, China’s Ministry of Emergency Management published a draft work safety industry standard called the Safety Management Specification for Work of Online Leak Sealing and Hot-tapping. The …
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On Oct. 24, 2023, China’s National Development and Reform Commission published a draft 2023 version of China’s energy efficiency grading system for key energy-consuming products. The commission is seeking comments …
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On October 24, 2023, China published the amended “Marine Environment Protection Law”. The amended law will come into force on January 1, 2024. The “Marine Environment Protection Law” was first …
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On Sept. 28, 2023, the Municipal Administration for Market Regulation, Municipal Ecology and Environment Bureau and other two government departments of Beijing, China, announced stricter regulations on volatile organic compound …
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On Oct. 28, 2023, China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment released an infographic that provides an overview and important regulatory points of local standards for water pollutant discharge in Nansi …
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On Nov. 8, 2023, the China National Institute of Standardization published draft revisions of two mandatory national standards for the energy efficiency grades and minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) for …
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On October 12, 2023, the National Development and Reform Commission and other three central government agencies of China launched the “Three-year action plan for promoting bamboo as an eco-friendly substitute …
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On Sept. 20, 2023, the Municipal Ecology and Environment Bureau and other five government departments of Beijing, China’s capital, announced a municipal program for achieving synergy between the emission reduction …
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