The Resolution on Strengthening Protection of Ecological Environment in All Aspects and Promoting the Tough Battle of Effectively Preventing and Controlling Pollution in Accordance with the Law (the "Resolution") has been recently adopted at the Fourth Session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress ("NPC").
The Resolution sets out requirements in five aspects, including "establishing and improving the toughest and most rigorous legal system for the protection of ecological environment". Further, the Resolution clearly states that efforts will be made to formulate the law on the prevention and control of soil pollution as soon as possible, accelerate revising relevant laws including the law on the prevention and control of environmental pollution caused by solid waste, make further improvements to the legal system with respect to the prevention and control of air and water pollution, and establish and optimize legal norms that cover a wide range of environmental pollution factors, such as the water pollution, air pollution, sound pollution, waste pollution and light pollution. In addition, the Resolution calls for inspiring enterprises to proactively undertake and fulfill subject responsibilities for environmental protection and for the prevention and control of pollution in accordance with the law, implementing the principle that polluters must bear liability according to the law, accelerating the establishment and improvement of the mechanism to link administrative law enforcement for protection of ecological environment to criminal justice, and improving systems regarding the civil actions and administrative public-interest actions in the eco-environmental protection sector.