context: A draft environmental code has undergone its first review by the National People's Congress Standing Committee and is now available online for public comment until 13 June 2025. Comprising five main parts and 1,188 articles, drafting of the code climbed to the top of the legislative agenda in 2025. It aims to address a broad range of environmental issues, including biodiversity, solid waste, soil, air, water, carbon emissions and hydra-headed pollution.
The draft adopts a codified model that incorporates ten existing laws and sets out general principles on green and low-carbon development.
One of the most debated components of the code thus far has been the legal responsibility of enterprises and individuals who pollute or damage the environment.
Over the past decade, Chinese policymakers have emphasised the strict enforcement of ecological damage compensation and have advanced reforms to this compensation system. The Civil Code, promulgated in May 2020, formally established the ecological environmental damage compensation system in law, providing a substantive legal foundation.
Environmental damage compensation litigation is a unique form of judicial relief in the PRC, argues Xia Jun 夏军 Beijing Jingwen Law Firm partner. He adds that there has been a recent trend in local legislation to broaden the scope of compensation—an approach reflected in the current draft code.
Key articles within the code include
- article 1,066 stipulates that when national regulations are violated, resulting in environmental pollution or damage that causes loss to the state, governments at the prefectural level or above may seek compensation from the responsible entities.
- article 143 encourages social organisations and volunteers to lawfully engage in environmental protection activities.
- when pollution or ecological damage harms public interests, social organisations that meet the following conditions may file civil lawsuits:
- legally registered with civil affairs departments at the prefectural level or above
- engaged in public-interest environmental protection for five consecutive years without any violations
- when pollution or ecological damage harms public interests, social organisations that meet the following conditions may file civil lawsuits:
- article 1,086 states that if an environmental impact assessment agency, monitoring institution or organisation working on soil pollution prevention commits a crime, it shall be subject to criminal liability and permanently barred from engaging in related activities
Article 1,066 effectively expands previous criteria for ecological compensation by reframing it as any violation of national regulations that causes damage to the state. This could result in a tendency to seek compensation for any damage, potentially leading to misuse of public authority or even rent-seeking behaviour. Regarding the sequence of claims, the draft requires that lawsuits only be initiated after failed negotiations. This narrows the space for civil society organisations to participate in environmental public interest litigation.
In regard to Article 1086, some members of the Standing Committee have argued that a lifetime ban is too severe for crimes that may otherwise result in light sentences.
There have been suggestions to relax restrictions on civil society organisations filing public interest lawsuits
- any legally established organisation without a record of violations should qualify as a plaintiff
- requirements related to the administrative level of registration or years of dedicated ecological work could be removed
- experience requirements could be left to market self-selection, promoting greater flexibility and vitality in the legal system