2026 year 3 month 12 On this day, a landmark piece of legislation was enacted—the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China on Ecological Environment. This is the second “code” in China, following the Civil Code, and also the world’s first comprehensive code named after “ecological environment.” 2026 year 8 month 15 Effective from today, it will officially come into force.

Someone asked: “This Civil Code governs my marriage, inheritance, property, and transactions—so what does it actually regulate? What does it have to do with me? It feels far removed from my everyday life; it seems like a matter for the government or businesses.”

The answer is: it affects the air you breathe, the water you drink, the noise outside your window, the light overhead, and even the location of the trash bin beneath your home.

What is the Ecological and Environmental Code?

In short, this code consists of 1242 Article, consolidating provisions previously scattered across the Environmental Protection Law, the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law, the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law, and others. 10 The contents of various laws have been consolidated into a comprehensive “Compendium of Environmental Law.” Henceforth, when addressing ecological and environmental issues, consulting this single volume will suffice.

The Code is divided into five books:

Part I—General Provisions: This section establishes six guiding principles for ecological and environmental protection, namely “prevention first, systematic governance, ecological priority, green development, public participation, and liability for harm.”

Part II—Pollution Prevention and Control: Covers water, air, soil, solid waste, noise, light, electromagnetic radiation, and other areas.

Part III—Ecological Conservation: Protecting forests, grasslands, wetlands, and other ecosystems, with a focus on key regions such as the Yangtze River Basin, the Yellow River Basin, and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Part IV—Green and Low-Carbon Development (a global first): Integrating carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, as well as climate change response, into the framework of the rule of law.

Part V—Legal Liability and Supplementary Provisions: Uniform penalties; violations shall be subject to accountability.

Regulations closely related to our daily lives

1 . Green living starts with me

Article 7   Any organization or individual has the obligation to protect the ecological environment.

Article 10   Citizens should enhance their awareness of ecological and environmental protection, adopt a simple, moderate, green, and low-carbon lifestyle, conscientiously fulfill their obligations to protect the environment, abide by relevant laws and regulations on ecological and environmental protection, and cooperate with the implementation of environmental protection measures.

2 . Waste sorting must be disposed of at designated locations.

Article 499, Paragraph 1   The state is implementing a household waste sorting system.

Article 506, Paragraph 2   All organizations and individuals shall, in accordance with the law, sort and dispose of domestic waste at designated locations. It is prohibited to dump, pile up, discard, scatter, spill, or burn domestic waste at will.

3 . Food waste cannot be fed directly to pigs.

Article 514, Paragraph 3   It is prohibited for livestock and poultry farms to use food waste that has not undergone harmless treatment as feed for livestock and poultry.

4 . Reduce waste by starting at the source

Article 501   Relevant departments of local people’s governments at or above the county level shall, within their respective areas of responsibility, strengthen management of product production and circulation processes, prevent excessive packaging, promote the market launch of pre‑washed and pre‑cut vegetables, and reduce the generation of municipal solid waste.

5 . The polluter pays

Article 515, Paragraph 1   Local people’s governments at or above the county level shall, in accordance with the “polluter pays” principle, establish and improve a fee‑based system for the treatment of domestic waste.

6 Excessive volume in square dancing will constitute a violation of the law.

Article 1,190   Anyone who, in violation of the provisions of this Law, falls under any of the following circumstances shall be subject to persuasion and education by the department designated by the local people’s government, and shall be ordered to make corrections; if they refuse to correct, they shall receive a warning, and individuals may be fined between RMB 200 and RMB 1,000, while organizations may be fined between RMB 2,000 and RMB 20,000.

(1) Using high‑volume loudspeakers in areas where noise‑sensitive buildings are concentrated;

(2) Organizing or conducting recreational, fitness, or other activities in public places without complying with the public‑place manager’s regulations regarding activity areas, time periods, sound levels, and other relevant provisions; failing to implement effective measures that result in noise pollution; or using audio equipment in violation of applicable rules, thereby generating excessively loud sound.

(3) Conducting interior renovation work on buildings that have been completed and put into use outside the prescribed working hours, or failing to implement effective measures, thereby causing noise pollution;

(4) Other acts that, in violation of laws and regulations, cause noise pollution in daily life.

7 .Light pollution is also subject to regulation

Article 1,210   Anyone who, in violation of the provisions of this Law, fails to take effective measures to prevent or mitigate light pollution from advertising screens, billboards, light boxes, media façades, roads, stadiums, construction sites, or other such installations, thereby interfering with others’ normal living conditions or traffic flow, shall be ordered by the competent authorities for housing and urban–rural development, ecological environment, transportation, and the traffic management departments of public security organs—each within their respective jurisdictions—to make corrections. Those who refuse to comply shall be subject to a fine of no less than RMB 5,000 and no more than RMB 50,000.

8 . Open-air burning: Prohibited!

Article 1,131, Paragraph 1   Anyone who, in violation of this Law, sprays highly toxic or acutely toxic pesticides on trees, flowers, and plants in densely populated areas, or openly burns straw, fallen leaves, or other materials that generate smoke and dust pollution in areas or during periods where open burning is prohibited, shall be ordered by the supervisory and administrative authority designated by the people’s government at or above the county level to make corrections and may be subject to a fine of no less than RMB 500 and no more than RMB 2,000.

Your rights: the right to know, the right to participate, and the right to supervise.

Chapter IX of the General Provisions of the Code, “Information Disclosure and Public Participation,” confers four important rights upon every citizen:

First, the right to know— the right to be informed of environmental facts.

Second, the right to participation—having the right to attend hearings.

Third, the right of oversight—entitled to report unlawful conduct.

Fourth, the right to sue—supporting social organizations in filing civil public interest lawsuits in accordance with the law.

Why is this code worth your attention just as much as the Civil Code?

1 Legal safeguards for people’s well-being: By focusing on “small issues” such as noise pollution, light pollution, and waste sorting that directly affect residents, the law provides a direct and robust legal framework to address problems like noise, cooking fumes, and foul odors right at people’s doorsteps.

2 A comprehensive closed-loop system for rights protection: The Civil Code safeguards civil rights and interests, while the Environmental Protection Code ensures fundamental survival rights, such as clean air and safe drinking water. Together, these two codes form an integrated framework of rights protection that spans from “personal and property rights” to “ecological and environmental rights.”

3 The rule-of-law foundation of nationwide action: safeguarding the public’s rights to environmental information, participation, and oversight, while guiding citizens to adopt green lifestyles, thereby enabling everyone to become co‑builders of a sound ecological environment.