[Regulatory Update] China's Ecological and Environmental Code Takes Effect — Major Environmental Laws Consolidated as China's Regulatory System Centres on a "Code"
The date of entry into force, the laws repealed, and the numbers of administrative regulations, normative documents and judicial interpretations reviewed are based on Article 1242 of the Code, State Council Decree No. 843, the announcements of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and the Supreme People's Court. What changes individual companies will need to make to their permits and internal rules is not described in these sources.
Related Regulation Information
China Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law and Industrial Wastewater Discharge Standards
China's Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law and the national industrial wastewater discharge standards (GB standards) are among the most strictly and rigorously enforced environmental regulations in China. They set maximum permissible limits for chemical oxygen demand (COD), nitrogen and phosphorus, heavy metals (such as cadmium and chromium), and pH value in industrial wastewater discharged from manufacturing plants into public waters or sewer systems. In recent years, a "continuous daily penalty" system has been applied, under which fines accumulate daily until a violation is corrected, and in severe cases this can lead directly to operational suspension or criminal detention of the company's representative.
See this regulation's full analysis (timeline & business impact)China Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law
China's Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law is one of China's fundamental environmental laws, aimed at preventing and improving air pollution, protecting public health, and improving the ecological environment. It covers stationary sources such as coal-fired power plants, steel mills, chemical plants, and cement plants, as well as mobile sources such as motor vehicles, and comprehensively governs air pollutant emission controls, emission standards, monitoring systems, and administrative enforcement. In recent years its scope has expanded beyond PM2.5 control to reducing volatile organic compounds (VOCs), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and sulfur oxides (SOx), and to addressing ozone pollution, positioning it as the core law of China's air-quality policy. This law will be repealed on August 15, 2026, with its content fully consolidated into the Ecological and Environmental Code. It aims to prevent air pollution, protect public health, improve the ecological environment, continuously reduce emissions, and promote the transition to green industry, and it also serves as the basic law underpinning national air-quality improvement policies such as the "Blue Sky Protection Campaign." It applies to manufacturing, chemical plants, steel mills, cement plants, power plants, automotive manufacturers, VOC-emitting facilities, and operators of boilers and combustion equipment; local governments may set emission standards stricter than the national standard based on regional circumstances. Key areas include: air pollutant emission control (compliance with statutory and national emission standards, GB standards); emissions monitoring (measurement, continuous monitoring, data retention, and administrative reporting for facilities above a certain scale); VOC emission control (emission suppression, recovery equipment, leak management, and process improvements); and emergency response (production restrictions, operational suspension, and emission-reduction orders issued by local governments during severe air pollution events).
See this regulation's full analysis (timeline & business impact)China Water & Air Environmental Protection Domain
An emission regulation system overseeing volume reduction controls for wastewater and exhaust gases (air pollutants) from industrial facilities, and zero-emission protection policies in priority watersheds like the Yangtze River.
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A process system mandating the public disclosure of carbon emissions, energy usage, and environmental compliance information for listed and high-emitting companies.
See this regulation's full analysis (timeline & business impact)China Law on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste
China's "Law on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste" is a powerful law requiring all manufacturing plants in China to properly sort, store, recycle, and treat industrial solid waste and hazardous waste. It is the legal foundation of China's distinctive green policy achieving "zero waste imports," and imposes fines of up to RMB 1 million (roughly JPY 20 million) for violations of proper on-site storage standards or for entrusting disposal to unlicensed operators. In addition, representatives of companies that improperly entrust waste disposal face administrative detention of up to 15 days.
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