The “Ecological and Environmental Code of the People’s Republic of China” was adopted by the National People’s Congress on March 12, 2026. It is China’s second law named “Code” after the Civil Code. So it shows the importance that China has attached to harmonize the relations between man and nature.
The Code was adopted by a high vote at the Fourth Session of the 14th National People’s Congress on March 12, and will come into force on August 15, 2026.
German historian Friedrich Carl von Savigny commented that law develops organically from the Volksgeist (”national spirit” or “common consciousness of the people”). After more than a dozen years of ecological civilization construction, we could see from the released Ecological and Environmental Code what lessons the Chinese people have learned.
China currently has more than 30 effective laws, over 100 administrative regulations, and more than 1,000 local regulations related to ecological and environmental protection. The Code integrated scattered environmental protection legal norms and consolidate the legal foundation for ecological protection. It not only improves the legal system but also perpetuates the experiences of ecological civilization construction in the form of a Code, providing long-term and stable legal guarantees for the construction of ecological civilization.
The Code consists of 5 parts and 1242 articles, which includes the General Provisions, Pollution Prevention and Control, Ecological Protection, Green and Low-Carbon Development, Legal Liability, and Supplementary Provisions in order.
The General Provisions clarify the legislative purpose and basic principles. The Pollution Prevention and Control Part covers pollution control in various fields such as air, water, soil, solid waste, noise, and radioactive substances etc..
The Ecological Protection Part in accordance with the requirements of coordinating the relationship between economic development and ecological protection and achieving a win-win situation between high-quality development and high-level protection, it emphasizes the full protection of ecosystems such as forests, grasslands, wetlands, oceans, islands, rivers, lakes, and deserts, and sustainable unitilization of land resources, mineral resources, water resources, fishery resources, and other natural resources, reflecting protection in development and development in protection.
The Green and Low-Carbon Development Part responds to the needs of carbon peak and carbon neutrality.
The Legal Liability Part strengthens punishment for violations, forming a systematic and complete ecological legal system.
- The Chinese version of the full text here, for your reference.
Source: China Ecological Civilization, No. 57, https://xueyingyingxue.substack.com/…/china-passes…
