China’s first-ever Ecological Environment Code (Draft) was submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress for a first reading in April 2025. The draft comprises 1,188 articles in five chapters including the general provisions, pollution prevention and control, ecological protection, green and low-carbon development, legal liability and supplementary provisions. Once adopted, it will become China’s second formal statutory code, after the Civil Code. The compilation of this environmental code was initiated in 2023.

The Ecological Environmental Code (Draft) introduces several key changes and new provisions. It emphasizes the protection of public rights on “ecological environment” in addition to public health. The draft also addresses new types of pollution from, for example, chemical substances, electromagnetic radiation, and light pollution. It strengthens the regulation of third-party environmental monitoring institutions and enhances the accountability of environmental impact assessment (EIA) institutions. Moreover, the draft incorporates reform measures into the legal framework; these include unified ecological environment supervision, central ecological environment protection inspection, and ecological environment damage compensation.

The draft builds upon existing environmental laws and strategies, maintaining continuity by retaining effective institutional measures that have been tested through practice. It upgrades and integrates current environmental legal systems, removing redundant and contradictory clauses from previous laws that were enacted at different times and under varying management philosophies. This consolidation aims to enhance the systematic, holistic, and coordinated nature of environmental regulations.

For the first time, green and low-carbon development has been independently compiled under principled and leading regulations. While filling legal gaps, the code also considers needs for green and low-carbon development, circular economy, energy conservation and response to climate change, carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. The code establishes principles for the construction and practical development of relevant systems in the future, laying the foundation for future single line legislation in those fields.

The implementation of the Ecological Environment Code (Draft) will be overseen by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and other relevant ministries. The draft is currently open for public comment, and after gathering feedback from various stakeholders, it will be further refined and submitted to the Chinese People’s Congress for approval. The timeline for implementation will be determined after the final version of the code is enacted into law.

The draft code is a systematic integration, compilation, and codification of more than 30 currently effective environmental laws. It also represents necessary institutional innovation to adapt to new situations and requirements in the environment and ecology.