This Code establishes a comprehensive legal framework for ecological and environmental protection in China. It is enacted in accordance with the Constitution in order to protect the ecological environment, prevent and control pollution and other public hazards, safeguard public health and ecological environment rights, maintain ecological security, promote green and low-carbon development, build an ecological civilization, comprehensively advance the construction of a beautiful China, accelerate the modernization of harmonious coexistence between man and nature, and realize the sustainable development of the Chinese nation.
The Code consolidates and restructures previously fragmented environmental laws and regulations into one unified coherent framework, while addressesing gaps in previous legislations to strengthen key areas of ecological and environmental protection. It sets out general principles (prevention, system governance, ecological priority, green development), governance structures, and regulatory mechanisms. It defines responsibilities of state authorities, enterprises, and individuals, and provides for planning, monitoring, environmental impact assessment, emergency response, public participation, and information disclosure.
The Code is organized into five parts, comprising a total of 1,242 articles. The general provisions regulate supervision, standards, zoning, monitoring systems, ecological compensation, and environmental impact assessment. A dedicated part on pollution prevention and control addresses air, water, marine, soil, solid waste, noise, radioactive, electromagnetic, light pollution and chemical risks, including sector-specific measures and regional coordination mechanisms. It establishes key regulatory tools such as pollutant discharge permits, emission control systems, inspection powers, and prohibitions against evading supervision or falsifying monitoring data. Further parts address ecological protection and green low-carbon development. These include protection of biodiversity through a national park-centered system, protected area and species conservation regimes, protection of key ecosystems and geographic regions, prevention of land degradation, ecological restoration, circular economy, clean production, energy efficiency, and climate change mitigation and adaptation. The final part sets out legal liability, establishing administrative and civil responsibility for environmental harm, sanctions for violations across all regulatory areas, and rules on enforcement, penalties, and limitation periods.