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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China’s Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development on October 13 issued national standards for energy conservation and renewable energy use in buildings, with the aim of improving energy efficiency, promoting …
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China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment on October 13, 2021, released a list of 23 substances that have been added to the Inventory of Existing Chemical Substances in China. The …
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At an executive meeting on September 15, China’s State Council passed regulations to manage the country’s groundwater, which were published on October 21 and will come into effect on December …
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The government of China’s Shanghai Municipality on October 29 issued its revised regulations on production safety, which will come into effect on December 1. The regulations went through a major …
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On October 22, the Beijing Alliance of Technological Innovation in Compulsory Resources Recycling Industry released a set of standards called Recycling Label for Beverage Carton Package, which was effective immediately. …
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On November 4, China’s National Carbon Emissions Management Standardization Technical Committee released draft national recommended standards called the Guidelines for Information Disclosure of Organization Carbon Emission Management to solicit public …
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On November 2, 2021, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China released the “Environmental protection comprehensive list (2021 version)”. The list is used as the basis for the government …
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China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on October 27 released a list of old production methods and equipment that should be eliminated within a designated period due to solid …
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On October 24, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and China’s State Council released Opinions on the Implementation of Carbon Emissions Peaking and Carbon Neutrality through the …
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On September 30, 2021, Department of Ecology and Environment of Hainan Province, China issued a notice on strengthening the management of electronic code of whole biodegradable plastic products. The purpose …
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On September 27, 2021, the Beijing Municipal Ecology and Environment Bureau released the revised draft of the compulsory local standard- “Limit standards of volatile organic compounds of architectural coatings and …
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The Zhejiang Provincial Administration for Market Regulation on August 9 issued local standards for the classification of green warehouses by energy consumption and carbon emissions, which came into effect on …
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To implement the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer and its amendments, on October 8th, several departments of China’s central government, including the Ministry of Ecology and …
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China’s State Council on October 10 released a general plan for standards development across all economic sectors. It defines policies, targets and main challenges of standards development for the next …
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China’s Tianjin Municipality on September 27 passed regulations to help peak carbon emissions and achieve carbon neutrality, and put them into effect on November 1. These are China’s first provincial …
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China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment on September 24 released two sets of draft rules — the Measures on the Management of Mandatory Corporate Environmental Information Disclosure and the Standards …
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On September 24, 2021, the Beijing Municipal Ecology and Environment Bureau released the revised local standard “General principles for cleaner production audit for industrial enterprises” (DB11/T 1156-2021). The standard stipulates …
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China’s National Medical Products Administration released “Regulations on the Supervision and Administration of Children’s Cosmetics” on September 30, 2021. The regulations will take effect on January 1, 2022 (except for …
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China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment on October 11 released a draft of the New Pollutant Management Action Plan (新污染物治理行动方案 (征求意见稿)) to solicit comments, which were accepted until October 22. …
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On September 20, 2021, the National Medical Products Administration of China notified the WTO with the “Good manufacture practice for cosmetics (Draft)”. The final date for comments is 60 days …
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China’s State Administration for Market Regulation and Standardization Administration on August 20 issued two sets of recommended national standards (GB/T) for the recycling of automotive traction batteries. Their names are …
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On August 27, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Ministry of Commerce and State Administration for Market Regulation jointly …
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On September 8, 2021, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology published “Interim Measures for General Export Permit Management for Monitoring Chemicals (Draft for Comments) ” and started soliciting opinions. …
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China’s Ministry of Emergency Management on September 6 announced urgent implementation of measures to improve the production safety responsibility insurance system. To standardize and ensure the implementation of this system, …
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China’s National Development and Reform Commission and Ministry of Ecology and Environment on September 16 jointly released the Plastic Pollution Control Action Plan (the “Plan”) that will be implemented during …
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China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on August 24 published a response to Proposal No. 1259 of the fourth session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People’s …
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China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment on September 10 released the Guidelines on Environmental Management and Pollution Control for the Disposal of Nine Types of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment, …
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On August 10, 2021, the State Administration for Market Regulation of China released a compulsory national standard – “Requirements of restricting excessive package -Foods and cosmetics” (GB 23350-2021). The standard, …
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On June 9, 2021, China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) responded to questions regarding “Energy label implementation rules for small and medium-sized three-phase asynchronous motor”. The questions and answers …
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On August 13, 2021, China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment published “Ozone Depleting Substances List Subject to Import and Export Control in China (Draft for Comment) on its website. The …
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On August 21,2021, the Department of Safety Supervision and Administration of Hazardous Chemicals, Ministry of Emergency Management of China released the draft of industry standard “Guidelines for chemical process safety …
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On August 31, 2021, China National Institute of Standardization published “Report on the 15th Anniversary of China Energy Label System” (hereinafter referred to as the “Report”). The report consists of …
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According to an announcement of China’s National Medical Products Administration on August 25, the following six substances were added on September 20 to the Catalog of Classification and Types of …
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China’s Hainan Province on August 16 released the second version of the List of Non-biodegradable, Single-use Plastic Products Banned for Production, Sale and Use in Hainan Province (the “List”) to …
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On August 24, 2021, China Electronic Standardization Institute published drafts for soliciting opinions on “Technical specification for green-design product assessment” for projection display products and metallized film capacitor. The deadline …
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On August 16, 2021, the National Development and Reform Commission of China released the “Circular on promoting industrial projects to move into industrial park and tightening regulations and supervision of …
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China’s State Administration for Market Regulation On August 31 submitted a TBT notification to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to inform it of a draft regulation called the Regulation on …
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China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment on August 9 issued the Technical Specification of Pollution Control for Treatment of Waste Power Lithium-ion Battery (Trial) (HJ 1186—2021; the “Specification”) as national …
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The Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress published a draft revision of the Noise Pollution Control Law (噪声污染防治法) to solicit comments after deliberating on the revision. Comments will be …
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China’s Ministry of Commerce on July 16 published a draft of the Measures on the Use and Reporting of Single-use Plastic Products (一次性塑料制品使用、报告管理办法) to solicit comments (it was open for …
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On August 20, 2021, the China Consumer Goods Safety Standardization Technical Committee released the draft of a recommended national standard (GB/T) – “Guideline for setting limits of chemical substances in …
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China’s Ministry of Emergency Management on July 25 issued the Regulations on Dust Explosion Safety for Industrial and Trading Companies (工贸企业粉尘防爆安全规定; the “Regulations”), which came into effect on September 1. …
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China’s Fujian Province on July 29 issued the Regulations of Fujian Province on Water Pollution Control (福建省水污染防治条例; the “Regulations”). The Regulations will come into effect on November 1, replacing the …
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China’s State Administration for Market Regulation on August 16 submitted to the WTO a TBT (Technical Barriers to Trade) notification of mandatory national standards (GB) called the “Limit of Harmful …
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On August 10, 2021, Tianjin Ecology and Environment Bureau of China published the draft on “Waste electrical and electronic equipment treatment development plan” and started to solicit opinions from the …
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China on August 16 submitted a draft of its national standards for limits on musical instrument hazardous substances to the WTO. The draft standards are a revision of China’s only …
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The Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment on July 19 released the Plan for Mandatory Clean Production Audit in Shanghai for 2021–2023 so that this audit can play a …
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On June 21, 2021, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Market Regulation released a local standard- “Implementation guidelines for carbon neutrality of enterprises and institutions” (DB 11/T 1861-2021) (hereafter referred as …
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The Beijing Municipal Administration for Market Regulation on June 21 issued local standards called the “Norm of water intake—Part 15: Vehicle manufacturing” (DB11/T 1764.15—2021). These standards are put into effect …
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The Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning, a branch of China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment, released on July 23 the 2021 Annual Report on Carbon Dioxide Capture, Utilization and Storage …
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On June 21, 2021, the Beijing Municipal Market Supervision and Administration Bureau in China released the local standard DB11/T 1860-2021 “Guidelines for electronic information products carbon footprint accounting” (hereinafter referred …
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On July 28, 2021, the “Minimum allowable values of energy efficiency and energy efficiency grades for fluorescent lamps for general lighting service” (draft for comments), which was integrated and revised …
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On July 22, 2021, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) published drafts on 5 compulsory national standards, including “Household and similar electrical appliances general requirements-Product safety” and launched …
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The Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment on August 5 issued the List of Key Industries in Shanghai for Construction Project Environmental Impact Assessments 2021 (上海市建设项目环境影响评价重点行业名录 (2021年版); the “List”), …
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China’s State Administration for Market Regulation on July 22 issued the Regulations on the Responsibilities for the Repair, Replacement and Return of Private Vehicles (家用汽车产品修理更换退货责任规定; the “Regulations”) to clarify the …
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On July 20, 2021, Department of Ecology and Environment of Guangdong Province, China, released “Guangdong Province VOC-related Key Industry Measures Guidelines. The guideline, which covers 12 industries including petrochemical, printing, …
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On June 28, the Great Wall Motor(GWM) of China announced that it has succeeded in developing the “Dayu Battery”, which is a highly safe power system for electric vehicles. The …
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On August 4, 2021, China National Development and Reform Commission and 3 other government agencies released the “Notice on encouraging home appliance manufacturers to participate the recycling target responsibility system …
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China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment on July 27 announced a pilot program in which designated pilot districts will perform environmental impact assessments (EIAs) focusing on carbon emissions from construction …
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On May 14, the Department of Ecology and Environment and the Administration for Market Regulation of Jiangsu Province, China issued a local standard called the Integrated Emission Standard of Air …
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From late July to early August, China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment published articles on cases of hazardous waste-related illegal activities on its website in order to provide reference cases …
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On July 7, 2021, China’s National Development and Reform Commission announced the “14th Five-Year Plan for Circular Economy Development”. The Plan aims to greatly improve the overall resource utilization capacity, …
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In 2018, State Administration for Market Regulations and other 7 departments of China jointly announced a corporate standard “forerunner” system based on corporate self-declared disclosure will be established and implemented. …
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In April 2021, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and other 7 departments jointly released the “Interim measures for standardization management of remanufacturing of auto parts”. On May 31, …
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In order to implement the “Network security law of the People’s Republic of China” and other legal and regulatory requirements, and to strengthen the top-level design of the standardization of …
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On July 6, 2021, the Department of Ecology and Environment of Jiangsu Province, China released the following 2 mandatory local standards for comments and started to solicit opinions. The deadline …
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On June 17, 2021, China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) published on its website a list of 255 substances that have been added to the Inventory of Existing Chemical …
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On June 15, 2021, China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment published on its website a list of eight substances planned to be added to the Inventory of Existing Chemical Substances …
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On June 28,2021, Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China released the “Manual of accounting method and coefficient of generation and emission in emission source statistical investigation” (hereafter referred as …
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The General Office of China’s State Council on May 27 announced its legislative plan for 2021. The plan contains 18 draft laws to be submitted to the congress as well …
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The following is a list of representative organizations that are in charge of environmental regulations in China. Ministry of Ecology and Environment: MEE Solid Waste and Chemicals Management Center: SCC …
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China Chemical Safety Association on June 16 released two sets of safety standards for the chemical industry, both effective immediately: Guide for Safe Production Information Management in Chemical Enterprise (T/CCSAS010—2021) …
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China’s Ministries of Industry and Information Technology, Science and Technology, Finance, and Commerce on June 9 issued a circular on a plan for a pilot program to implement automotive product …
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On May 30, China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment published on its website the Guiding Opinions on Enhanced Control of Ecological and Environmental Pollution Sources for Energy- and Emission-intensive Construction …
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On May 24,2021, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China gave an answer to the question related to the storage methods of VOC containing materials in coating industry on …
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China’s State Council on May 28th revealed six substances added to the Catalog of Classification and Types of Precursor Chemicals (易制毒化学品的分类和品种目录) in accordance with Article 2 of the Regulation on …
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China’s permanent representative to the United Nations on June 17 deposited the country’s instrument of acceptance with the UN Secretary-General. The amendment enters into force in China on September 15 …
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Overview about energy conservation regulations in China In the 21st century, China’s economy is rapidly developing, while the ecological environment is gradually deteriorating. Problems have become more serious due to …
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China’s Ministry of Emergency Management on May 26 published a draft circular on stricter safety control of ammonium nitrate to solicit comments. Public comments will be accepted until June 27, …
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China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment on June 4 issued a circular on operations to implement a ban on the production and use of hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) under the Stockholm Convention …
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On April 29, 2021, State Administration for Market Regulation of China released drafts of 2 recommended national standards GB/T, “Biodegradable drinking straws” and “Degradability and identification requirements of biodegradable materials …
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On May 11, 2021, the State Council of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) issued the “Notice on the Reform Implementation Plan for Hazardous Waste Management Supervision and Utilization Capacity” …
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On June 11, 2021, the 2021 amendment of “Law of the People’s Republic of China on Work Safety” (hereinafter abbreviated as “2021 amendment”) was promulgated. And the amendment will come …
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China National Institute of Standardization on June 4 published recommended national standards called the Workpiece Machining Energy Consumption Limit Setting Method (draft for comments) (the “Standards”; 机械加工制造过程工件能耗限额制定方法 (征求意见稿)). This draft …
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China’s National Medical Products Administration on May 28 issued the List of Banned Cosmetic Ingredients (化妆品禁用组分) and the List of Banned Botanical (Animal-derived) Cosmetic Ingredients (化妆品禁用植 (动) 物组分), both of …
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On June 2, 2021, China’s Ministry of Emergency Management released the “Measures for grading construction of occupational safety and health management system ” (draft for soliciting opinions) and began soliciting …
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The Civil Aviation Administration of China in May announced the Plan for Civil Aviation Plastic Pollution Control Measures 2021–2025 (民航行业塑料污染治理工作计划 (2021–2025年)). The total number of passengers in China’s civil aviation …
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China’s National Development and Reform Commission and State Administration for Market Regulation on May 17 published five sets of revised Energy Efficiency Labeling Implementation Rules (the “Rules”; 能源效率标识实施规则) for small …
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China, aiming to enter the world market as an economic powerhouse, has raised the need for domestic production of technology in its five-year plans since 20 years ago, even in …
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In April. 2021, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China added a total of 319 chemical substances into the “List of existing chemical substances” in two times. The reasons …
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On April 22, 2021, the Department of Ecology and Environment of Guangdong Province released the “Provisions on inquiry work of Department of Ecology and Environment of Guangdong Province” (hereafter referred …
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On January 4, 2021, the China Standardization administration released a collective standard “Specification for information disclosure for extended producer responsibility of electric and electronic producers”. The standard will take effect …
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On April 19,2021, the Beijing Municipal Ecology and Environment Bureau released “Regulations on classification of ecological environmental penalty and management of publicity period in Beijing (2021 Edition)” (hereinafter referred as …
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On April 9, 2021, Department of Ecological Environment of Shandong Province issued the “Implementation opinions (trial) on the ‘Regulations on the administration of pollutant discharge permits’ ” (hereinafter referred as …
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On May 7, 2021, Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China released the “Guidelines for screening of priority assessment chemical substances ” (Draft for comments) and began soliciting comments from …
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On April 22, 2021, Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China exposed an illegal sewage discharge by a company in Henan Province on its official website, which was found by …
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On April 25, 2021, the Solid Waste and Chemicals Management Center MEE released the answers to the frequently asked questions(FAQ) related to the “Environmental management registration of new chemical substances” …
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China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment on May 8 published an article that describes the details and penalties of seven cases of automated monitoring regulation violations, including fabrication of data, …
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On April 28, 2021, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment released the “Announcement on emission factors and material balance methods for calculating the taxable pollutants of environmental protection tax”. The …
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The Fujian Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment on April 23, 2021 published an article on some enforcement cases of the Regulations on Pollutant Discharge Permit Management (排污许可管理条例; the “Regulations”). …
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