Providing Legal Guarantees for Ecological Civilization in the New Era

Based on the practice of ecological environmental protection in the New Era, the compilation of the Ecological Environment Code has received high attention from the Party Central Committee. At present, the conditions for compiling the Ecological Environment Code, grounded in political foundations, practical needs, and theoretical and practical driving factors, have matured, demonstrating that this code is a deep implementation of Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, confirming the achievements of ecological civilization construction in a systematic and codified manner.

立足于新时代生态环境保护实践，生态环境法典的编纂工作得到了党中央的高度重视。当前，生态环境法典编纂的条件基于政治基础、现实需求及理论实践动力因素已成熟，彰显这部法典是深入贯彻习近平生态文明思想、以体系化法典化方式确认生态文明建设的成果。

The compilation of the Ecological Environment Code embodies the concept of sustainable development. Sustainable development theory consistently emphasizes a holistic perspective and approach, insisting on the integration of economy, society, and ecology. The Ecological Environment Code takes sustainable development as its logical main thread and is divided into a General Provisions Part, a Pollution Control Part, a Natural Ecological Protection Part, a Green and Low-Carbon Development Part, and an Ecological Environment Responsibility Part, ensuring that each sub-part reflects the concept of sustainable development that promotes synergy between economic and ecological benefits. Under the premise of moderate codification, the overall needs of sustainable development are met through environmental legal guarantees and policy guidance, promoting the development of green technologies and industries. The Ecological Environment Code, through systematic legislative design, fully embodies the concepts of sustainable development and harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature in terms of content and pathways to realization, emphasizing the combination of ex-ante prevention and comprehensive governance to fundamentally reduce the occurrence of environmental pollution and ecological damage.

生态环境法典编纂体现可持续发展理念。可持续发展理论始终强调统筹的视野与方式，坚持经济、社会和生态的一体化。生态环境法典以可持续发展为逻辑主线，分为总则编、污染控制编、自然生态保护编、绿色低碳发展编和生态环境责任编，确保各个分编部分体现经济效益与生态效益协同促进的可持续发展理念。在适度法典化的前提下，可持续发展的整体性需求通过环境法律保障和政策引导，促进绿色技术和产业的发展，生态环境法典正是通过系统化的立法设计，在内容、实现路径等方面对可持续发展理念、人与自然和谐共生理念予以全面体现，强调事前预防与综合治理相结合，从根本上减少环境污染和生态破坏的发生。

The compilation of the Ecological Environment Code reflects the strategic position of ecological civilization construction. Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law and Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization condense the Party's understanding of the laws governing socialist rule-of-law construction, the development of human rule-of-law civilization, and ecological civilization construction, providing fundamental guidance and a course of action for compiling the Ecological Environment Code, and also demonstrating China's determination and capability in ecological civilization construction. The report of the 18th National Congress of the CPC incorporated ecological civilization construction into the Five-Sphere Integrated Plan; the 19th National Congress of the CPC emphasized the strategic significance of ecological civilization construction; the 2013 "Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Several Major Issues Concerning Comprehensively Deepening Reforms" included ecological civilization construction as an important part of comprehensively deepening reforms; the newly revised "Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China" was formally implemented in 2015, strengthening environmental rule-of-law construction; the "Overall Plan for the Reform of the Ecological Civilization System" issued in 2015 deployed various tasks for reforming the ecological civilization system; and in 2018, content such as "ecological civilization construction" was written into the Constitution, providing a solid constitutional foundation for the compilation of the Ecological Environment Code. Facing the new requirements of the New Era, the compilation of the Ecological Environment Code integrates a legal rule system compatible with the goals of ecological civilization construction, fulfilling its due guiding role.

生态环境法典编纂体现生态文明建设的战略地位。习近平法治思想和习近平生态文明思想凝结着党对社会主义法治建设、人类法治文明发展和对生态文明建设的规律性认识，为编纂生态环境法典提供了根本遵循和行动指南，也展示了我国在生态文明建设方面的决心和能力。党的十八大报告中将生态文明建设纳入“五位一体”总体布局，党的十九大强调了生态文明建设的战略性意义，2013年《中共中央关于全面深化改革若干重大问题的决定》将生态文明建设纳入全面深化改革的重要内容，2015年新修订的《中华人民共和国环境保护法》正式实施，强化了环境法治建设，2015年印发的《生态文明体制改革总体方案》部署了生态文明体制改革的各项任务，2018年将“生态文明建设”等内容写入宪法，为生态环境法典的编纂提供了坚实的宪法基础。面对新时代新要求，生态环境法典的编纂兼容生态文明建设目标的法律规则体系，发挥其应有的指导作用。

The compilation of the Ecological Environment Code reflects the modernization process of the rule of law in the ecological environment. The compilation of the Ecological Environment Code is a major innovation in the field of ecological environment rule of law. At present, China has established an environmental protection legal system in the ecological environment field, centered on the basic law "Environmental Protection Law," comprising over 30 laws, more than 100 administrative regulations, over 1,000 local regulations, and environmental standards. As legislative content has become increasingly rich, new problems such as overlapping and duplication of content have emerged in China's environmental protection laws and regulations system. The compilation of the Ecological Environment Code can systematically integrate existing environmental protection laws and regulations, eliminate legal conflicts, fill legal gaps, and form a unified and coordinated legal system. This is not only conducive to improving the operability and enforceability of the law but also helps to enhance the level of rule of law in environmental governance.

生态环境法典编纂体现生态环境法治现代化进程。生态环境法典的编纂是生态环境法治领域的一次重大创新。目前，我国生态环境领域已经出台以《环境保护法》基本法为核心的30多部法律、100多件行政法规、1000多件地方性法规以及环境标准的环境保护法律体系。随着立法内容不断丰富，我国环境保护法律法规体系出现内容相互交叉、重叠等新问题。生态环境法典的编纂可以系统整合现有的环境保护法律法规，消除法律冲突，填补法律空白，形成统一、协调的法律体系。这不仅有利于提高法律的可操作性和执行力，也有助于提升环境治理的法治化水平。

The compilation of the Ecological Environment Code reflects the realization of the goal of building a "Beautiful China." The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC proposed focusing on building a Beautiful China; the Pollution Control Part and the Natural Ecological Protection Part directly map onto the achievement of the Beautiful China construction goal and indirectly affect the process of realizing the "dual carbon" goals [1]1 The "dual carbon" strategy refers to China's goals of reaching peak carbon emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.. On the one hand, greater emphasis is placed on preventing environmental pollution and environmental health risks at the source, by formulating strict pollution control standards, strengthening regulatory measures, and implementing effective environmental enforcement actions, aiming to reduce pollution sources harmful to human health; on the other hand, it focuses on maintaining and restoring ecological balance, including aspects such as biodiversity protection, the establishment and management of nature reserves, and the assessment of ecosystem service functions.

生态环境法典编纂体现“美丽中国”建设目标的实现。党的二十届三中全会中提出要聚焦建设美丽中国，污染控制编、自然生态保护编的内容直接映射美丽中国建设目标的达成，间接地影响着实现“双碳”目标的进程。一方面，更加注重从源头预防环境污染和环境健康风险，通过制定严格的污染控制标准、强化监管措施以及实施有效的环境执法行动，旨在降低对人类健康造成危害的污染源；另一方面，专注于维护和恢复生态平衡，包括对生物多样性的保护、自然保护区的设立与管理、生态系统服务功能评估等多个方面。

The compilation of the Ecological Environment Code reflects the rights and interests of the people and responds to public concerns. On July 28, 2022, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the resolution recognizing "the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment as a universal human right," marking that environmental human rights have become an independent type of human rights and have gained universal recognition from the international community, a milestone comparable to the historic resolution of the "Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment." Following political rights and economic rights, the third generation of human rights has emerged, including emerging rights such as the right to survival, the right to development, and environmental rights. Stipulating environmental rights in the Ecological Environment Code is an important manifestation of the constitutional principle of respecting and protecting human

生态环境法典编纂体现人民权益、回应民众关切。2022年7月28日，联合国大会通过了“享有清洁、健康和可持续的环境是一项普遍人权”的决议，标志着环境人权成为独立的人权类型且得到了国际社会的普遍认可，其里程碑意义堪比《人类环境宣言》的历史性决议。在政治性权利、经济性权利之后，迎来了第三代人权即生存权、发展权、环境权等新兴权利的发展。在生态环境法典中规定环境权是我国宪法尊重与保护人权原则的重要体现，也是我国积极履行国际生态保护义务的重要体现。随着环保意识的提高，民众对环境保护的关注度日益提升，生态环境法典编纂保障公众的环境权益，通过明确环境权利和义务，建立健全环境信息公开和公众参与制度，增强环境治理的透明度和公信力，提高公众的环境保护意识和参与度。

The compilation of the ecological environment code embodies the concept of green and low-carbon development. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC proposed accelerating the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development and improving the mechanisms for green and low-carbon development. Green and low-carbon development is an innovative concept put forward by China under the new circumstances; it is both a response to the demands of the times and a reflection of the order of values. This thought has played an important role in the formation and advancement of China's sustainable development theory and in the implementation of the "dual carbon" strategy [1]1 The "dual carbon" strategy refers to China's goals of reaching peak carbon emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.. The essence of green and low-carbon development is social sustainable development. From pollution control to human health protection, and then to the sustainable development of the ecological environment, it is necessary to adopt strategies for green and low-carbon development. Designing legal safeguards for green and low-carbon systems to address problems in economic development has become an inevitable choice. The compilation of the ecological environment code integrates the green and low-carbon development section as an important legal norm promoting economic development into the ecological environment code. This not only highlights its core position within the entire code but also reflects the indispensable role of "promotional laws" in advancing the process of green and low-carbon development. This section clarifies its positive role in guiding the rational allocation of social resources, encouraging technological innovation, and strengthening environmental protection, thereby providing strong support for achieving high-quality economic development and comprehensive modernization.

生态环境法典编纂体现绿色低碳发展理念。党的二十届三中全会中提出加快经济社会发展的全面绿色转型，健全绿色低碳发展机制。绿色低碳发展是中国在新形势下提出的一种创新性理念，既是对时代要求的回应，也是对价值秩序的一种反映，这一思想对中国可持续发展理论的形成和推进，对“双碳”战略的贯彻落实起到了重要作用。绿色低碳发展的实质是社会可持续发展，从污染控制到人类健康维护，再到生态环境可持续发展，必须采取绿色低碳发展的策略，设计绿色低碳制度的法治保障对策以应对经济发展中的问题，成为必然的选择。生态环境法典编纂将绿色低碳发展编作为一部促进经济发展的重要法律规范整合入生态环境法典，不仅凸显了其在整个法典中的核心地位，也体现出“促进法”在推动绿色低碳发展进程中不可或缺的角色。该编明确其对于引导社会资源合理配置、鼓励技术创新和加强环境保护等方面的积极作用，为实现经济高质量发展和全面现代化提供有力支撑。

The compilation of the ecological environment code reflects an important contribution to global ecological environment governance. China's efforts and achievements in environmental protection have attracted widespread attention from the international community. The compilation of the ecological environment code helps to enhance China's international image and provides useful reference and guidance for other countries. As the world's largest developing country, China's efforts and achievements in the codification of ecological environment law will have a positive demonstration effect on other countries, conducive to promoting the improvement of global ecological environment governance. At the same time, the results of China's ecological environment codification will have a positive impact on China's position in the international community. By sharing experiences, exchanging technologies, and engaging in collaborative governance, it establishes China's image as a defender, protector, and practitioner of environmental human rights, thereby facilitating China's deeper participation in global environmental governance.

生态环境法典编纂体现对全球生态环境治理的重要贡献。中国在环境保护方面的努力和成就受到国际社会的广泛关注，生态环境法典的编纂有助于提升中国的国际形象，为其他国家提供有益的借鉴和参考。作为世界上最大的发展中国家，中国在生态环境法典化方面的努力和成果将对其他国家产生积极的示范效应，有利于推动全球生态环境治理水平的提升。同时中国生态环境法典化的成果将对中国在国际社会中的地位产生积极影响，通过分享经验、交流技术、协同治理，树立我国环境人权维护者、捍卫者、践行者的形象，进而有利于促进我国深度参与全球环境治理。

The compilation of an ecological environment code reflects the promotion and development of the knowledge system of environmental law with Chinese characteristics. The knowledge system of environmental law with Chinese characteristics possesses modernity, internationality, and foresight; it both draws on the advanced achievements of international environmental law and combines China’s actual conditions for innovation and development. The compilation of an ecological environment code helps to form a logically self-consistent and mutually supportive legal system, providing a solid legal foundation; it helps to further refine environmental law theory, promoting the theoretical development of the environmental law system with Chinese characteristics by fixing core theories, principles, and values in the field of environmental law in legal form; it helps to strengthen systematic legislative thinking, emphasizing the internal connections and logical structure between laws, thereby enhancing the overall effectiveness of environmental law; and it helps to promote the integration of academic research with practice, driving the in-depth development of academic research in environmental law and providing continuous theoretical support for the environmental law system with Chinese characteristics.

生态环境法典编纂体现中国特色环境法学知识体系的促进发展。中国特色环境法学知识体系具备现代性、国际性和前瞻性，既借鉴国际环境法学的先进成果，又结合中国实际进行创新和发展。生态环境法典编纂有助于形成一个逻辑自洽、相互支撑的法律体系，提供坚实的法律基础；有助于进一步提炼环境法学理论，通过将环境法学领域的核心理论、原则和价值观以法律的形式固定下来推动中国特色环境法学体系的理论发展；有助于强化立法体系化思维，注重法律之间的内在联系和逻辑结构，提升环境法律的整体效能；有助于推动学术研究与实践结合，推动环境法学学术研究的深入发展，为中国特色环境法学体系提供源源不断的理论支持。

The compilation of an ecological environment code is not only a systematic integration, compilation, and revision of the current ecological and environmental protection legal system, mechanisms, rules, and norms through codified legislation, but also a major measure that follows the trend of the times and responds to public concerns. It not only reflects the profound transformation of the concept of rule of law in the New Era [2]2 The New Era refers to the period following the 19th National Congress of the CPC in 2017, marking a new historical juncture for the development of socialism with Chinese characteristics under Xi Jinping. and demonstrates the deep integration of scientific decision-making and technological progress, but also fully implements the concept of green development and reflects the general consensus of the people on ecological and environmental protection. The compilation of an ecological environment code will inevitably promote the coordinated development of economic and social development and ecological environmental protection, contributing Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to global environmental governance.

生态环境法典编纂不仅是以法典化立法方式对现行生态环境保护法律制度机制和规则规范进行系统整合、编订纂修，更是顺应时代潮流、回应民众关切的重大举措。不仅体现了新时代法治理念的深刻变革，彰显了科学决策与技术进步的深度融合，更全面贯彻了绿色发展理念，反映了人民对生态环境保护的普遍共识。生态环境法典的编纂，必将推动经济社会发展与生态环境保护的协调发展，为全球环境治理贡献中国智慧和中国方案。

(The author is Dean and Professor of the School of Environmental Law, Gansu University of Political Science and Law)

（作者系甘肃政法大学环境法学院院长、教授）

Online editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧