Environmental code unveiled

China's national legislature adopted on Thursday the Ecological and Environmental Code at the closing meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress, opening a new chapter for systematic environmental governance.

The compilation of the code was initiated in November 2023. The draft legislation underwent three rounds of deliberation by the NPC Standing Committee last year prior to its submission to the session.

Wang Canfa, a professor of environmental law at China University of Political Science and Law, hailed the adoption as "a significant event" in the country's advancement of ecological civilization.

"Compiling disparate environmental statutes into a comprehensive ecological and environmental code provides considerable advantages over the existing fragmented legislative framework," Wang said.

Through systematic integration, the code can overcome the fragmentation, resolve conflicting rules, and eliminate redundant legislation inherent in separate laws, thereby establishing unified concepts, principles and core institutions, he said.

"It operationalizes the concept of holistic ecosystem protection and systematic governance, thereby fulfilling the imperatives of ecological civilization construction," Wang added.

The professor said the code's dedication of an independent book to green and low-carbon development is a global precedent.

Currently, almost 20 ecological or environmental codes have been promulgated worldwide, with none of them including "green and low-carbon development" as a standalone section.

He pointed out that the code's green and low-carbon development section will play a significant role in promoting China's climate process.

While the goals of achieving peak carbon dioxide emissions and carbon neutrality have been incorporated into the overall layout of the country's ecological civilization construction, Wang said that no specific law has yet been enacted for tackling climate change.

He stressed that establishing the independent book can elevate the goals and climate response measures from policy objectives to binding legal institutions, ensuring a stable and law-governed green transition.

"Green and low-carbon development is the fundamental solution to ecological and environmental problems," he stressed.

By creating the independent section, the code overcomes the shortcomings of past environmental legislation, moving beyond a narrow focus on pollution control to address problems at their source, he said.

Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu noted the remarkable achievements that the country has made in pollution control.

China saw the average proportion of days with heavy pollution drop by 25 percent to only 1 percent from 2021 to 2025. The proportion, however, still stood at 3 percent for some regions, including the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, Huang said after the closing of the session.

He stressed the importance of a systematic and source-driven approach to further bring down the proportion.

The ministry will seize the favorable opportunities presented by the country's target of reaching peak carbon emissions before 2030 and the enactment of the code to advance the green and low-carbon transformation of the country's industrial, energy and transportation structures, as well as the development of new quality productive forces, in order to reduce pollutant emissions at the source.

Regarding marine pollution prevention and control, one of the sections of the code, Minister of Natural Resources Guan Zhi'ou said the ministry has consistently adhered to strict control over new land reclamation projects, maintaining a natural coastline retention rate of over 35 percent.

"Notably, a number of beautiful blue bays, scenic beaches and charming islands are becoming popular destinations for people seeking happiness and leisure," Guan said.

houliqiang@chinadaily.com.cn