BEIJING: A draft environmental code, poised to become China’s second formal statutory code once adopted, has been submitted to an ongoing session of the country’s top legislature for a first reading.
The draft code includes 10 existing laws related to ecological and environmental protection, such as the Environmental Protection Law, the Law on Environmental Impact Assessment and the Law on Atmospheric Pollution Prevention and Control, Shen Chunyao, head of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, said on Sunday.
Key principles from current laws on river basin management, natural resources and biodiversity protection have also been incorporated or reflected in the draft code, Shen said in a report to the session, which opened on Sunday and will run through Wednesday.
Although China has yet to enact dedicated laws on tackling climate change, peaking carbon dioxide emissions, achieving carbon neutrality and promoting low-carbon development, the draft code includes directive provisions on these issues, he said. These provisions aim to establish basic principles and lay a foundation for future legislation.
The draft stipulates that the national government should strengthen monitoring of greenhouse gases and the climate system, and establish a system for releasing related monitoring information.
Before the environmental code, China’s national legislature adopted the Civil Code in 2020.
“The new code is not simply a legal compilation, nor is it entirely new legislation,” Shen said.
Rather, it is a systematic integration, compilation, revision and enhancement of China’s existing laws, institutions, rules and norms for ecological and environmental protection, Shen said. It also involves institutional innovation to meet new demands and improve the systemic, holistic, coordinated and timely nature of the country’s legal framework for environmental protection.
The draft stresses the integrated protection of mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands and deserts, considering eco-environmental elements such as the atmosphere, water and soil, Shen said.
It also aims to solve prominent problems in the environmental sector that hinder high-quality development and protection efforts, he added. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
