This is a code that embodies Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, ranging from the concept that "lucid waters and lush me invaluable assets" to the institutional framework covering the entire territory and the entire process. This is a code that responds to the people's ardent expectations for a beautiful ecological environmen the new era, using the power of the rule of law to safeguard the environment and writing the yearning for a beautiful ecology into the blueprint of the rule of law. This is code that "protects the ecological environment with the strictest systems and the most rigorous rule of law," with 1,242 articles building a solid legal barrier for the h coexistence of humanity and nature. On March 12, 2026, the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress adopted the Code o Environment of the People's Republic of China. Following the Civil Code, this is the second fundamental law named "Code" in our country, holding great and far-reaching significance for advancincivilization construction in the new era on the track of the rule of law and realizing the sustainable development of the Chinese nation. Harnessing the "wisdom" of the Code to advanccivilization construction in the new era on the track of the rule of law "Ecological prosperity leads to the prosperity of civilization." Since the 18th National Congress of tmunist Party of China, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has placed ecological civilization construction at the height of the "Five-sphere Integrated Plan," systematically g the reform of the ecological civilization system. As a result, historic, pivotal, and comprehensive changes have taken place in ecological civilization construction, both in terms of understanding and practice must change with the times to ensure good governance, and governance must suit the world to achieve success. General Secretary Xi Jinping has profoundly pointed out: "Only by implementing the strictesttems and the most rigorous rule of law can we provide a reliable guarantee for ecological civilization construction." Compiling the Code of Ecological Environment is a major political and legislative task deployed by theal Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core. Forming a Code guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, with Chinese characteristics, reflecting the features of the timesnd embodying the will of the people, and systematically standardizing and coordinating it, is of great and far-reaching significance. It confirms the theoretical, institutional, and practical achievements of ecological construction since the 18th National Congress of the CPC in a codified manner.

The path of codification has consistently upheld the Party's leadership over legislative work and adhered to the principles of, democratic, and law-based legislation. In March 2025, General Secretary Xi Jinping presided over a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Centrl Committee, which heard a report from the Party Leadership Group of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) regarding the draft Ecological Environment Code, deliberaten it, and in principle agreed to the request. General Secretary Xi made important instructions on the codification work, providing guidance and a basis for the compilation of the Ecological Environment Co "A code is not a simple compilation of laws, nor is it a complete creation of new laws, but rather a systematic integration, compilation, and elevation of existing ecological environment legal systems,hanisms, and rules," said Huang Wei, Deputy Director of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee and the lead coordinator of the specific work of the Ecological Environment Code Compilation Wog Group. The code systematically integrates and logically reconstructs more than 30 currently effective ecological environment laws, over 100 administrative regulations, and more than regulations, as well as relevant judicial interpretations, rules and regulations, and policy measures. It aims to resolve conflicts and gaps between different laws while transforming concepts such as "mountins, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, and grasslands are a community of life" and "man and nature are a community of life" into specific provisions. Scientific legiruns through the entire codification process. During the legislative period, the working group organized 17 thematic symposiums in Beijing on key and difficult issues, soliciting opinions andestions from deputies to the NPC, relevant central departments, enterprises and social organizations, and experts and scholars. A typical example is the discussion regarding the "daily penalty" system. Shouthe scope of application be expanded and the initiation procedure simplified to allow law enforcement departments to enforce the law more flexibly and efficiently, or should the usage procedure be further tightened to unify enforcement ards as much as possible, ensuring the seriousness and credibility of penalties? "We repeatedly weighed the options; we wanted the law to have 'teeth,' but also to ensure that hese 'teeth' bite accurately and firmly," said Huang Haihua, Director of the Research Office of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee and a member of the Ecological Environment Codetion Working Group. Ultimately, the code struck a prudent and clear balance: it confirmed and strengthened the legal status of the "daily penalty" system and clarified its applicable scenarios.he same time, it added a provision stating "and take timely measures to stop the illegal act" to avoid the situation of "substituting punishment for management." This ensures that this sere system "reveals its sharp edge" in deterring illegal acts while "sheathing the sword" with standardized procedures, embodying the rule of law principle of "punishment nsurate with the offense" and achieving a balance between the intensity of punishment and enforcement standards. The light of democratic legislation shines throughout the process. After each deliberation by the NPC Standinmmittee, the draft was published to the public to solicit opinions. Over four rounds of public consultation, more than 7,000 people submitted over 20,00 comments.

The content of the Code is systematic and comprehensive, establishing the "general rules" for ecological environmental protection ag a historic shift in China's ecological environmental governance logic from fragmented management characterized by "separate elements, separate links, and separate departments" to systematic governance covering the "entcess, entire territory, and all elements." Qin Tianbao, Director of the Institute of Environmental Law at Wuhan University and Vice President and Secretary-General of the Environmental and Resources Law Research Asation of the China Law Society, believes that this is not merely a codification of legal form, but also an elevation of the rule of law concept for ecological civilization, a reshof the value system, and a systematic innovation of the institutional paradigm. Using the "unification" of the Code, a new pattern of governance featuring concerted efforts, coordination, and systematic m constructed. "Formulate one when one is mature," for a long time, China's ecological environmental field has formed a vast body of laws, providing a basic basis for ecological el protection in various fields. However, problems regarding the systematic nature and synergy among laws have gradually emerged, with overlaps, conflicts, and even contradictions in regulatory systems and institutional measures across dirent laws. "‘Unification’ is one of the greatest characteristics of the Code of Ecological Environmental Law," Qin Tianbao said. The Code of Ecological Environmental Law has ach a leap from "fighting alone" to "systematic integration," constructing a new pattern of governance featuring concerted efforts, coordination, and systematic management. The compilation of the Code of Ecological Eonmental Law adopted a "moderate codification" model, including the General Provisions, Pollution Prevention and Control, Ecological Protection, Green and Low-Carbon Development, Legal Liupplementary Provisions. Among them, the "General Rules Sub-division" in the Pollution Prevention and Control Division is particularly set up, acting like "extracting common ffrom various single laws. It refines common systems such as discharge permit, environmental monitoring, and admonitory talks, avoiding possible repetitions or contradictions among laws like the Air Pollution Prevention andControl Law, Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law, and Soil Pollution Prevention and Control Law in the past, making the enforcement of the law smoother and more effective. The "unifica of the Code is primarily reflected in the coordination and unification of the regulatory system and the clarification of rights and responsibilities. The Code establishes a system of "unified supervision and management withonsibilities" in the General Provisions. It clarifies that the competent department of ecological environment under the State Council shall implement unified supervision and management over ecological environmental protection work nationwidin its scope of duties, and shall be responsible for unified policy, planning, and standard formulation, unified monitoring and assessment, unified supervision and law enforcement, and unified supervision and accountability. Tt department of natural resources under the State Council shall implement supervision and management over the development, utilization, and protection of natural resources nationwide within its scope of duties, and shall, accouthorization of the State Council, perform the duties of the owner of all natural resources assets owned by the whole people, and perform the duties of land space use control and ecological pr restoration. Relevant departments such as development and reform, industry and information technology, housing and urban-rural development, transportation, water administration, agriculture and rural affairs, forestry and grand under the people's governments at or above the county level, and the ecological environmental protection departments of the armed forces shall implement supervision and management over ecological environmental protection work within their respective scops of duties.

Regarding overlapping areas of responsibility, such as agricultural non-point source pollution, river sand mining management, and supervision of ion projects within nature reserves, the Code establishes coordination mechanisms, information sharing, and joint law enforcement provisions to strive for a synergistic regulatory effort. The concept of "unification" is also reflected in the systematic integration and innovation of institutional measures. The Code explicitly states that the "state shall establish and improve the ecological environment zoning control system," codifying and standthe outcomes of the Ecological Protection Red Line, Environmental Quality Baseline, Resource Utilization Ceiling, and Ecological Environment Access List ("Three Lines and One List"). "This m that in the future, for any region, the 'bottom line' and 'ceiling' of its ecological environment will be clear legal red lines at the outset of planning and developmener a project can proceed and what kind of project can be approved must first pass through this 'sieve,'" said Yu Wenxuan, a professor at China University of Political Scie and Law. He believes this avoids subsequent governance dilemmas caused by planning conflicts at the source. The structural design of the Ecological Protection Section profoundly embodies the systematic thinking of "unificationpholding the concept of integrated protection and systematic governance of "mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands, and deserts," it consists o 7 chapters. Ranging from "Ecosystem Protection" and "Protection and Sustainable Utilization of Natural Resources" to "Species Protection" and "Protection of Important Geographic Units," and ther to "Prevention and Control of Ecological Degradation" and "Ecological Restoration," it constitutes an organic whole covering all elements, stages, and measures. In particular, regarding naturl resources, it explicitly coordinates protection with sustainable utilization, reflecting the dialectical unity of high-quality development and high-level protection. The ecological restoration and governance of the Gansu Qilian Mountional Nature Reserve serve as a vivid testament to the necessity of "unification." Once, activities such as mineral exploration and mining, hydropower development, and tourism facility construction werorderly here, causing damage to local ecosystems. "The problem at that time lay not only in illegal destructive acts but also in the 'multiple sources of policy' in management, overlappng planning, inconsistent goals, and scattered supervision and law enforcement, which gave destructive acts opportunities to exploit," said Yu Wenxuan. The concept of "unified supervision and systematic goance" in the Environmental Protection Code is precisely intended to eliminate systemic ecological risks caused by fragmented management systems and compartmentalized governance logic from an institutional perspective. With the "rigidity"of the Code, building a legal barrier for pollution prevention and ecological protection The dignity of law lies in its rigid binding force. Using the strictest systems and the most rigorous rulenvironmental Protection Code constructs a solid legal barrier for lucid waters and lush mountains. The "rigidity" of the Code is first reflected in a more rigorous and clear sysal liability.

In the past, the low cost of some ecological and environmental violations led some to take chances. A core gl of the "Liability and Supplementary Provisions" section of the Code is to address this issue, said Sun Youhai, a professor at Tianjin University. The Code not only integrates oves penalty provisions from existing laws but also focuses on generally increasing fine amounts and expanding the types of penalties. It strengthens the application of continuous penalty measures such as "daily penalty calculation," ethat ongoing violations incur continuously growing economic costs. More importantly, the Code systematically stipulates liability for ecological and environmental damage compensation. It clarifies that entities and individuals causing such damage mot only bear administrative fines but also repair or compensate for the damaged environment itself, achieving the principle that "damage is compensated and injury is redressed." This changes the previous situatre "a single penalty sufficed" and public ecological damage went uncompensated. The "rigidity" of the Code is not only reflected in penalty provisions but also runs through the dof the whole-process management system. In the "Pollution Prevention and Control" section, the Code strengthens the supervision and management system for fixed pollution sources centered on the discharge permit system. Ites emission standards, total emission control, and monitoring requirements into a single permit, achieving "one-permit" refined management. Particularly forward-looking is the ninth sub-section, which regulates chemicce pollution risk control, as well as the prevention and control of electromagnetic radiation and light pollution. It incorporates new pollutants and emerging environmental issues of domestic and international concern into the legal reguatory scope, filling gaps and setting up strict legal liabilities accordingly. A rigorous chain of environmental monitoring and supervision is clearly visible in the Code. From source prevention to process monitoring and then to accounconsequences, the Code clarifies each step. An environmental law enforcement frontline worker said: "In the past, investigating a case might require finding several legal bases. Now, thological and Environmental Protection Code has clearly sorted out common regulatory requirements and core systems across fields such as air, water, and soil. It particularly clarifies the legal liability of knt discharge units, giving us better leverage for daily supervision and law enforcement, making it more systematic." The "rigidity" ultimately manifests in the closed loop and synergy of liability pt. The Code constructs a liability pursuit system that connects administrative, civil, and criminal liabilities. It not only stipulates strict administrative penalties but also further regulates the ecological and environmental damage compensation syd the public interest litigation system. It also clarifies that criminal responsibility shall be pursued for acts constituting a crime. This means that in a serious case of environmental pollution or ecological destthe involved enterprise may face administrative fines, civil claims, and even criminal liability pursued by judicial authorities, truly realizing the effective superposition and deterrence of multiple legal liabilities. "This nation punch' style liability system significantly increases the deterrent power and enforcement power of the law, serving as a key support for the 'rigidity' of the Code," sai Yu Wenxuan.

Guided by the Code, Promoting Green and Low-Carbon Development and Enhancing People's Well-being The Environmental Protection Code innovatively establishes a "Green and Low-Carbon Development" section, which holds forward-looking significance in the history of global environmental code compilation. "The Code answers a queof the times: How can ecological and environmental protection and economic and social development transform from a 'dilemma' of contradiction into a 'synergy' of integration?" Qin Tao said. The Code resolves the traditional dilemma of the binary opposition between protection and development at the institutional level, providing lasting institutional incentives and stable rule-of-law expectations for the coordinated advancement of high-qualityelopment and high-level protection. Within the "Green and Low-Carbon Development" section, the dedicated chapter on "Addressing Climate Change" is particularly noteworthy. The Code actively imements the "carbon peaking and carbon neutrality" strategy, elevating key systems such as the dual control of total carbon emissions and intensity, the national carbon emission trading market, and the nationy greenhouse gas emission reduction trading market to the status of law. Guangdong Shenzhen Fengfa Technology Development Co., Ltd., a high-tech enterprise specializing in high-efficiency energy-sving motors, has seen its R&D investment increase year after year, precisely because it has seized the huge opportunities presented by the domestic green transition. "The Code encourages green and low-carbon , especially emphasizing support for green technology innovation, which makes us very excited—green is not just a responsibility, but also the core competitiveness of the future market," said Zhou Qing Chairman of the company. Combining constraints with incentives. While strengthening constraints on high-energy-consuming and high-emission projects, the Code also "backs up" green industries and environmental protectionises through diversified policy tools such as finance, taxation, pricing, government procurement, green credit, and green labeling. "The Code transforms green transition from an 'optional choice' for enterpses into a 'must-have' and 'source of advantage' for winning future market competition," said Lyu Jiyong, a member of the Party Committee and Vice President of Longpecial Steel Group Co., Ltd. The original intention behind the compilation of the Code lies in being "people-centered." The Code is filled with concern for safeguarding public health and ecological and eental rights and interests, imbuing the rigidity of the law with a focus on people's livelihood. "In the past, the smoke and noise from the restaurant downstairs were seve ecological environment, urban management, and market supervision departments would 'pass the buck' to each other, with no one taking responsibility. Now it's good; the Code stiore specific prevention and control requirements and penalty measures for pollution problems close to people's lives, such as catering smoke and noise disturbance," said Lian Gensheng, a property management anistrator at Guanghui Li Community in Chaoyang District, Beijing. The Code actively responds to livelihood pain points such as the "right to tranquility," "right toan air," and "right to clean water," making more operational provisions for issues like catering smoke, foul odors, and light pollution, which were previously regulated in a rather general manneror had gaps.

Waste sorting is a matter of vital importance to people's livelihood. The Code elevates proven and effective mature practices into legal systems. Building upon th experiences of Beijing, Shanghai, and other places, it further makes principled provisions for the nationwide implementation of the household waste sorting system, propelling waste sorting fradvocacy and guidance" to "legal regulation," and transforming it from a "new fashion" into a "new daily routine." If good laws are established in a country, the couwill be well governed; if good laws are established in the world, the world will be at peace. The birth of the Code of Ecological and Environmental Law is not only another milee continuous improvement of the socialist rule of law system with Chinese characteristics but also a declaration and roadmap for the Chinese nation's march toward sustainable development. By deeply implementing Xi Jinping Thought oCivilization, uniting efforts in the implementation of the Code, and proceeding steadily and far, a magnificent scroll of a Beautiful China—featuring ever-present green mountains, flowing c waters, and fresh air—will surely unfold even more splendidly across the vast land of China! (Liao Xin News Agency)