The 2014 Revisions to China's Environmental Protection Law

Abstract

After several years of wrangling and four formal readings, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress finally adopted the Revision of China’s 1989 Environmental Protection Law in April 2014.Through the introduction of modern regulatory principles and approaches appropriate for contemporary governance challenges, the legislation resets the baseline and framework for the country’s environmental efforts. Even though it is not slated to become effective until 1 January 2015, it has already been hailed as a radical transformation of China’s environmental legal system that will strengthen pollution control requirements. As others have recognised, however, the ultimate effectiveness of the new law will depend on its implementation and enforcement, something that is not assured in view of ongoing challenges faced by China’s environmental governance system. This essay describes some of the key developments in this new legislation and provides an assessment of its prospects.

Keywords: China Environmental Protection Law, Environmental Public Interest Litigation

JEL Classification: K32