On March 12, 2026, the Fourth Session of the Fourteenth National People's Congress adopted the Ecological and Environmental Code of the People's Republic of China, which will take effect on August 15, 2026. As the second code in China after the Civil Code, this landmark legislation signifies a new phase in the codification of China's ecological and environmental legal system and represents a significant milestone in perfecting the socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics.

Prior to the Code's enactment, China had over 30 effective ecological and environmental laws, along with more than 100 administrative regulations and over 1,000 local regulations. Despite their considerable number, these legal instruments inevitably suffered from overlaps, inconsistencies, and conflicts. Codification in this field is neither a mere compilation of existing statutes nor the creation of entirely new legislation; rather, it is a systematic integration, revision, and refinement of existing legal institutions, mechanisms, and rules through codification. By achieving a transformation from physical aggregation to chemical integration, the Code resolves the problems of duplication, inconsistency, and lacunae inherent in the individual statutes, thereby forming a logically coherent and harmonized legal framework. From a law enforcement perspective, the Code unifies adjudicative standards, strengthens the coordination between administrative enforcement and criminal justice, refines evidentiary rules, and for the first time enshrines in law the concept of ecological and environmental prosecution and the enhancement of prosecutorial supervision, imposing on prosecutorial authorities’ greater responsibility under the rule of law. From a compliance perspective, the Code adheres to the principle of protecting the ecological environment with the strictest systems and the most rigorous rule of law, imposing a maximum fine of up to two million yuan for acts such as tampering with or fabricating monitoring data. It also improves stringent measures such as daily progressive penalties, production or operational restrictions, and suspension or rectification, thereby rendering law enforcement more just and efficient and creating a powerful deterrent.

The Code consists of five books, 1,242 articles, and over 160,000 Chinese characters, systematically integrating existing ecological and environmental legal norms.

ž   Book One: It establishes the fundamental principles of ecological and environmental protection, specify the establishment of an ecological and environmental protection inspection system, a target responsibility system, and an assessment and evaluation system.

ž Book Two: The general part refines common institutions such as the pollutant discharge permit system, environmental monitoring, and total emission control, achieving refined single-permit management.

ž Book Three: It adheres to the integrated protection and systematic governance of mountains, waters, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands, and deserts.

ž  Book Four: It elevates the dual carbon goals from the policy level to a legal institution, a forward-looking achievement in the history of global environmental codification.

ž  Book Five: It specifies the coordination of civil, administrative, and criminal liabilities and provides for strict measures such as daily progressive penalties and administrative detention.

For foreign stakeholders, especially those that have business in China, it is advised to:

- Obtain a pollutant discharge permit and strictly comply with the types, concentrations, and quantities of pollutants specified in the permit; they shall not discharge pollutants without a permit or in excess of the permit.

- Perform their statutory obligations for cleaner production audits, take effective measures to reduce the emission of pollutants and greenhouse gases, and maintain ledgers for industrial solid waste management.

- Pay attention to their obligations relating to green and low-carbon development, such as establishing product take-back systems, undergoing cleaner production audits, and fulfilling carbon emission allowance surrender obligations, to avoid legal liability arising from non-compliance.