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
- Ministry of Natural Resources: MNR
- Ministry of Industry and Information Technology: MIIT
- Ministry of Emergency Management: MEM
- National Registration Center for Chemicals: NRCC
- National Development and Reform Commission: NDRC
- Standardization Administration of China: SAC
- Ministry of Water Resources: MWR
- Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development
- State Taxation Administration: STA
- General Administration of Customs: GACC
Ministry of Ecology and Environment: MEE
It is a central government ministry to oversee the ptotection of ecology and environment. Specifically it is in charge of, mainly establishment of basic systems for environmental protection, realization of emission reduction targets, prevention and supervision of environmental pollution and environmental destruction, monitoring and information disclosure on various environmental factors (water quality, air quality, etc.), guidance, coordination and surpervion for ecological protection activities and the like. Besides, as one of the central administrative agencies of the chemicals management, it has jurisdiction over the regulations on application and registration of new chemical substances.
Solid Waste and Chemicals Management Center: SCC
It is an administrative agency under the Ministry of Ecology and Environment. It has jurisdiction mainly over formulation of laws and regulations and technical analysis for risk control and pollution prevention measures regarding solid waste, chemical substances and heavy metals, management of transfer of hazardous waste, permission/ registration of export and import of hazardous chemicals, and registration for environmental management of new chemical substances.
Ministry of Natural Resources: MNR
It is a central government ministry newly established in March 2018 by merging the existing Ministry of Land and Resources, National Oceanic Administration, and Forestry Bureau. It has jurisdiction mainly over management/ supervision of natural resources such as land, mines, forests, grasslands, wetlands, water, and oceans, survey/ observation/evaluation of natural resources, establishment of development/utilization plans for natural resources, and protection/development/ utilization of oceans.
Ministry of Industry and Information Technology: MIIT
It is a central government agency that unifies the various industrial sectors and the telecommunications industry in China. It is mainly in charge of energy saving and synthetic use of resources in the industrial sectors and the telecommunications industry, planning and implementation of clean production promotion policy, and planning of clean production promotion plan in the various industrial sectors and the telecommunications industry. In addition, it has jurisdiction over RoHS regulations.
Ministry of Emergency Management: MEM
It is a central government ministry responsible for hazardous chemicals, safe production, and handling of suddenly-happened environmental incidents. It is mainly in charge of, management related to safe production and entry into dangerous chemicals operation, supervision and management of dangerous chemicals safety, development of dangerous chemicals list, registration of dangerous chemicals in China, guidance and supervision of activities related to safety standardization, and investigation/settlement and emergency relief of special serious accidents in the industries concerned.
National Registration Center for Chemicals: NRCC
It is one of the internal organizations of the Ministry of Emergency Management, and is a comprehensive technical support organization for the supervision and management for the safety of hazardous chemicals. It is mainly responsible for the formulation of laws and regulations such as registration, risk assessment and classification of dangerous chemicals, handling of suddenly-happened accidents of dangerous chemicals, and standardization of safe production of dangerous chemicals.
National Development and Reform Commission: NDRC
It is a central government agency that is mainly in charge of development and utilization of new energy. It is mainly responsible for, promotion of sustainable development strategy, comprehensive coordination towards energy saving and emission reduction, establishment of plans and policy measures for nationwide conservation and synthetic utilization of energy resources, establishment of ecological construction/environmental protection plan, coordination of the issues related to ecological construction, energy conservation and synthetic utilization, and coordinating work on behalf of the environmental protection industry and the clean industry.
Standardization Administration of China: SAC
It is a central government ministry taking charge of the Mandatory National Standards (GB) and Recommended National Standards (GB / T). It has jurisdiction mainly over the establishment/revision of national standards, unified examination/approval/set-up of numbering/promulgation of national standards, and coordination/guidance/registration of the activities related to development of industry standards/local standards.
Ministry of Water Resources: MWR
It is a central government ministry in charge of water infrastructure and medium-to long term plan for water use and water intake which is different from the sewage discharge under jurisdiction of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment. It is mainly in charge of the followings;
- Total coordination and gurantee of the water for daily life, production activities and ecological environment
- Unified supervision and management of water resources
- Planning and implementation supervision of the midium-to long term water supply and demand planning and the mothod of water volume allocation
- Implementation of water intake permits and onerous utilization system of water resources
- Development of water resources protection plan
- Planning and implementation supervision of water function zone classification of important rivers and lakes
- Submission of the limit value of the total emissions, leaders of drinking water water source protection
- Guidance for the utilization of groundwater development and management/protection of groundwater resources in urban planning districts
- Guidance for saving the water for inductrial use
Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development
It is a central government agency that is in charge of buildings and construction and formulates laws and regulations regarding energy conservation for buildings. It is mainly in charge of energy saving in construction, promotion of emission reduction in cities and towns, supervision of planning and implementation of energy saving policies and plans in construction, and promotion of implementation of energy saving projects related to serious buildings.
State Taxation Administration: STA
It is a central government agency that supervises the implementation of the Environmental Protection Tax Law in the field of ecological environment protection.
General Administration of Customs: GACC
It is a central government ministry responsible for supervision and management of imports and exports. It consists of a vertical management system unlike other government agencies involved in ecological environment protection. It is mainly in charge of inspection of conformity of chemical substances in products imported into China, supervision and management of transportation tools for import / export, cargo and goods, collection of customs duties and other taxes and expenses, crackdown on smuggling, and preparation of customs statistics.
