The highly anticipated draft of the Ecological Environment Code is currently soliciting public opinions. What are the highlights of the draft code? What impact will the promulgation of the future code have on the legal system of ecological environment? Zhao Ke, Director of the Regulations and Standards Department of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, responded to this on the 27th. At the press conference held by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment on the same day, Zhao Ke introduced that the legislative work in the field of ecological environment has achieved significant results. There are currently over 30 effective ecological environment laws, more than 100 administrative regulations, and over 1000 local regulations in China. This ecological environment legal and regulatory system, led by the Environmental Protection Law, covers various pollution factors such as water, air, and sound, as well as various natural ecosystems such as mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grasses, and sands. The compilation of the Ecological Environment Code is a major legal construction deployment made by the Party Central Committee. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment actively cooperates with the legislative body to promote the compilation of the code. In Zhao Ke's view, the draft code has five highlights: firstly, continuity, retaining effective institutional measures that have been tested in practice. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the legal system of ecological environment has kept pace with the times, providing a solid foundation for the compilation of legal codes. In the draft code, chapters on ecological environment impact assessment, air pollution prevention and control, and water pollution prevention and control retain the core content of current laws and maintain the relative stability of the law. The second is practicality, solving pain points and difficult problems in management practice. There are weak links in the supervision of environmental service agencies such as third-party monitoring agencies, which affect the quality of monitoring data. The draft code strengthens the supervision of third-party monitoring agencies; The draft of the code optimizes legal responsibilities based on the principle of "equivalent punishment". The third is systematization, which has removed some repetitive and contradictory provisions in current laws, enhancing the systematicity, integrity, and coordination of the legal system. The fourth is innovation, elevating some reform measures into legal systems. The experience and measures explored during the reform, such as ecological environment zoning control and ecological environment damage compensation, have been included in the draft code. The fifth is forward-looking, making leading regulations for emerging fields. If there are currently no specific legal provisions in the field of addressing climate change, the draft code considers legislative needs and makes some principled and leading provisions, laying the foundation for future institutional construction and practical development, and reserving space for future single line legislation in emerging fields. Zhao Ke stated that after the promulgation of the Ecological Environment Code, it will replace the Environmental Protection Law and lead the legal and regulatory system for ecological environment. The current 10 laws, including the Environmental Protection Law, Environmental Impact Assessment Law, Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law, and Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law, will no longer be retained. After the promulgation of the Code, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment will promote the comprehensive cleaning and upgrading of supporting systems, and further improve the legal and regulatory system of ecological environment. ”He said. We need to conduct a comprehensive review of the regulations and administrative normative documents of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment in accordance with the new provisions and requirements of the Code of Standards. Those that are inconsistent with the provisions of the Code shall be modified or abolished as appropriate, and cooperation shall be made with the legislative body to clean up laws and regulations. At the same time, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment will implement the authorized legislative requirements of the Code and accelerate the revision of supporting systems. Zhao Ke said that in addition, supplementary legislation should be carried out to promote legislation in emerging fields. For example, there are currently no specialized laws in emerging fields such as addressing climate change and promoting green and low-carbon development. On the basis of summarizing practical experience, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment will cooperate with the legislative body to promote the process of specialized legislation to address climate change. (New Society)