China Promulgates “Ecological Environment Code”: Part 1 
The Ecological Environment Code of the People’s Republic of China was promulgated on March 12, 2026, by Presidential Order No. 70. This is the second law in China to be officially titled a Code and will formally take effect on August 15, 2026. The promulgation of this Code signifies that China’s ecological and environmental protection has officially entered the era of “codification.”
Overall Structure and System
The Code consists of 5 books and 1,242 articles. The books are organized as follows: General Provisions, Pollution Prevention and Control, Ecological Protection, Green and Low-Carbon Development, and Legal Liability and Supplementary Provisions. Adopting a “moderate codification” model, the Code systematically integrates and consolidates more than 30 existing laws related to the environment.
Core Content of Each Book
Book 1: General Provisions
Consisting of 9 chapters and 143 articles, this book stipulates key legal principles and fundamental, comprehensive systems in the ecological environment field. Key highlights include:
- Clarifying the legislative purpose as “protecting public health and rights related to the ecological environment.”
- Defining the ecological environment, scope of application, and basic principles.
- Establishing a supervision and management system and operational framework.
- Establishing common systems for environmental planning, standards, monitoring, and Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA).
- Stipulating systems for ecological protection compensation, information disclosure, and public participation.
Book 2: Pollution Prevention and Control
This book consists of 9 sub-sections and 526 articles, accounting for nearly half of the Code and serving as one of its core components. It systematically integrates existing laws—such as those regarding air, water, soil, solid waste, noise, and radioactive pollution—while adding new regulatory content for chemical substance pollution risk management, electromagnetic radiation, and light pollution.
Book 3: Ecological Protection
Comprising 7 chapters and 265 articles, this book shifts the legislative approach from protecting single ecological elements to a philosophy of systemic protection. For the first time, it systematically regulates the entire process of ecosystem restoration. It includes specific provisions for forests, grasslands, wetlands, oceans, rivers/lakes, and deserts, while providing detailed rules for the coexistence of humans and wildlife.
Book 4: Green and Low-Carbon Development
Consisting of 4 chapters and 113 articles, this book is the most significant highlight of the Code. It upgrades “Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality” goals and climate change measures from policy targets to a robust legal system. It covers the development of a circular economy, energy conservation, green and low-carbon transition, and climate change response.
Book 5: Legal Liability and Supplementary Provisions
Consisting of 3 chapters and 191 articles, this book implements the requirement for “the strictest systems and the most meticulous rule of law,” establishing a unified, complete, and rigorous framework for legal liability.
Key Differences from Existing Environmental Laws
From “Fragmented Legislation” to “Codified Integration”
Currently, China has over 30 laws and 100 administrative regulations in the environmental field. Because they were enacted at different times, some legislation has lagged behind, leading to a lack of systematic consistency, overlapping content, regulatory gaps, and occasional contradictions.
The Code resolves these conflicts, fills legislative gaps, and improves the overall consistency and timeliness of the legal system. It also eliminates the difficulties in application caused by redundant provisions across various laws.
Status of Existing Individual Laws
| Category | Laws |
|---|---|
| Integrated into the Code and Repealed | 10 laws, including the Environmental Protection Law, EIA Law, Cleaner Production Promotion Law, Marine Environmental Protection Law, and the laws for Air, Water, Soil, Solid Waste, Noise, and Radioactive Pollution Prevention. |
| Key points integrated; laws remain active | Over 20 laws, including the Forest Law, Grassland Law, Wetland Protection Law, Yangtze River Protection Law, Yellow River Protection Law, and the Energy/Energy Conservation Laws. |
| Enacted in parallel with the Code | Individual laws concerning climate change, carbon peak, and carbon neutrality will be formulated based on the Code. |
Impact on Manufacturing Enterprises
With the enforcement of the Code, manufacturing enterprises will face a systemic strengthening of environmental compliance. Key points of focus include:
- Extended Responsibility: The chain of responsibility expands from the production stage to the recovery stage. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is now a mandatory legal obligation, requiring companies to establish recovery systems for end-of-life products.
- Permit-Centered Regulation: Discharge permits will become the core of regulation, with all pollution prevention requirements integrated into a “single-permit” management system.
- Expanded Regulatory Scope: For the first time, electromagnetic radiation, light pollution, “new pollutants,” and mobile sources (such as railway vehicles) are included under legal regulation.
- Mandatory Green Transition: The shift to green and low-carbon models has moved from a recommendation to an obligation. The status of the carbon emission trading market is established, and circular economy requirements have become stricter.
- Concurrent Liability: Legal liability now involves “triple-concurrent responsibility,” linking administrative penalties, civil liability, and criminal prosecution. Ecological environment service providers face risks of joint and several liability if they issue false reports.
FYI
Regarding the details of the “Ecological Environment Code,” we will produce and distribute a series of nine articles focused on specific themes, including air, water, soil, solid waste, chemicals, noise, ecosystem protection (Yangtze/Yellow Rivers), circular economy, and climate change.
- China Promulgates “Ecological Environment Code”: Part 2 – Air Pollution Prevention and Control: Establishment of a Labeling System for Low-VOC Products
- China Promulgates “Ecological Environment Code”: Part 3 – Water Pollution Prevention and Control: New Penalties for Diluting Industrial Wastewater
- China Promulgates “Ecological Environment Code”: Part 4 – Soil Pollution Prevention and Control: Strengthening Control of Toxic and Hazardous Substance Emissions
The original text of the “Ecological Environment Code” can be viewed at the following URL (Simplified Chinese):
https://www.news.cn/politics/20260313/f2d746f769ee4cb9a97e2f8cfb15783e/c.html
