Legal information

As my country's first systematic ecological and environmental code, the "Ecological and Environmental Code" has constructed a "five-part" system covering general principles, pollution prevention and control, ecological protection, green and low-carbon development and legal responsibilities, marking that ecological and environmental protection work has entered a new stage of legalization and systematization. The code establishes the core principles of prevention first and liability for damage, integrates prevention and control systems for all elements such as atmosphere, water, and soil, and formally incorporates the "double carbon" goal into the legal track, providing a solid legal guarantee for the green transformation of the economy and society.

In terms of supporting the development of the private economy,Lawyer Ying TingIt is believed that Codex has injected strong impetus into the green transformation of enterprises through multi-dimensional policy support and market mechanism innovation. The state has clearly implemented a combination of tax incentives, green finance (including credit, bonds, and insurance) and fiscal subsidies, established special funds to support ecological restoration and soil management, and mandated green government procurement to expand market space for private enterprises. At the same time, the Code strongly encourages the development of circular economy and remanufacturing industries, supports private enterprises in participating in renewable energy development and carbon emissions trading, and transforms ecological advantages into tangible economic benefits.

In addition,The Code focuses on optimizing the business environment and effectively reduces corporate compliance costs by simplifying the environmental assessment approval process, providing technical guidance, and establishing a credit repair mechanism. At the law enforcement level, inclusive and prudent principles such as exemption from punishment for minor violations, light punishment for proactive rectification, and exemption from force majeure have been established, which not only strengthens legal deterrence, but also reflects the warmth of the rule of law. Overall, the Code uses a fair and transparent rule system and a diversified incentive mechanism to guide private enterprises from passive compliance to active innovation, promoting them to achieve high-quality growth in green and low-carbon development.

"Ecological Environment Code" (adopted on March 12, 2026), which systematically integrates laws and regulations in the fields of pollution prevention and control, ecological protection, green and low-carbon development, etc. The following is what lawyer Ying Ting said about the Code:Overall summaryand specially sortedContent that is beneficial to private enterprises:

1. Overall summary: The code is divided into five parts, establishing a comprehensive and systematic ecological and environmental legal system:

1. Part 1 General Principles: Establishes the basic principles of ecological and environmental protection (such as prevention first, responsibility for damage), supervision and management system (unified supervision, zoning control), planning and standard system, environmental impact assessment system, ecological compensation mechanism and public participation rights.
2. Part 2 Pollution Prevention and Control: Covers the prevention and control of all elements such as atmosphere, water, ocean, soil, solid waste, noise, radioactivity, chemical substances, electromagnetic radiation and light pollution. The core systems include the emission permit system, total volume control, environmental monitoring and strict legal responsibilities.
3. Part 3 Ecological Protection: Emphasizing the integrated protection of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grass and sand, a natural protection area system with national parks as the main body has been established, and strict protection and restoration of forests, grasslands, wetlands, biodiversity and important watersheds (Yangtze River, Yellow River, etc.) have been implemented.
4. Part 4 Green and Low-Carbon Development: Incorporating the “double carbon” goal into the rule of law, it stipulates circular economy, clean production, energy conservation and transformation, response to climate change (carbon emissions trading, carbon footprint management), and green consumption.
5. Part 5 Legal Responsibilities and Supplementary Provisions: Clarifies the legal responsibilities of the government, enterprises and individuals, introduces daily continuous penalties, joint and several liability, ecological environment damage compensation and public interest litigation systems, and stipulates that they will be implemented from August 15, 2026, and the original single-line environmental protection law will be abolished.
   

2. Sorting out content that is beneficial to private enterprises

While strengthening supervision, the Code also creates a favorable environment for the green transformation and sustainable development of private enterprises by clarifying rules, providing policy support, optimizing services, and protecting rights and interests:

1. Policy support and financial support

• Tax incentives: It is clearly stipulated that the state shall provide tax incentives to entities and individuals involved in ecological and environmental protection in accordance with the law; donations from all walks of life are encouraged and tax incentives are also provided (Article 129).
• Green finance: The state strengthens financial support and promotes the development of green credit, green bonds, green insurance, green trust and other products (Article 132); financial institutions are encouraged to increase credit for soil restoration and green and low-carbon projects (Article 411, Article 950).
• Financial subsidies and funds: Establish a soil pollution prevention and control fund to support situations where the responsible person is unclear or the land use right holder actually undertakes restoration (Article 410). Establish an ecological restoration fund guarantee system, support the establishment of green funds and ecological special bonds, and encourage social capital to participate in the entire process of ecological restoration (Article 930). Provide financial subsidies or special financial support for key areas such as comprehensive utilization of straw, livestock and poultry manure treatment, and clean production (Articles 245, 309, and 962).
• Government procurement: State agencies and public institutions give priority to purchasing energy-saving and environmentally friendly products and equipment to provide market space for green products (Articles 131, 994).