The Ecological Environment Code of the People's Republic of China Officially Takes Effect Today
On August 15, 2026, coinciding with the fourth National Ecology Day, the Ecological Environment Code of the People's Republic of China officially took effect. The promulgation and implementation of this Code marks the formal entry of China's ecological environment protection legal system into a new stage of codification, representing a major milestone in the rule of law for advancing ecological civilization construction and the building of a Beautiful China. The Code's promulgation: A historic leap in the rule of law for ecological civilization construction. The Ecological Environment Code of the People's Republic of China is the second foundational law named as a "Code" after the Civil Code. The Code systematically integrates existing effective laws and regulations in areas including environmental protection, air pollution prevention and control, water pollution prevention and control, soil pollution prevention and control, solid waste pollution prevention and control, radioactive pollution prevention and control, and noise pollution prevention and control. It abolishes 10 separate laws, incorporates the essential provisions of more than 20 laws into the Code system, and makes comprehensive provisions on basic principles of ecological environment protection, supervision and management systems, pollution prevention and control, ecological protection and restoration, green and low-carbon development, and climate change response, establishing a complete and logically rigorous legal norm system. The Code also makes comprehensive provisions on radioactive pollution prevention and control...
2026-08-15
