The official introduction of the Yellow River Protection Law puts forward clear requirements for ecological protection and high-quality development of the chemical industry

Global Coatings Network News: On October 30, the 37th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress voted to pass the "Yellow River Protection Law of the People's Republic of China"
.
The Yellow River Protection Law puts forward a series of requirements such as prohibiting the construction and expansion of new chemical parks and chemical projects within the control of the shoreline of the main tributaries of the Yellow River, which will promote the ecological protection and high-quality development of
the chemical industry.

It is reported that the Yellow River Protection Law includes 11 chapters, including general provisions, planning and control, ecological protection and restoration, conservation and intensive utilization of water resources, water and sediment regulation and flood prevention and safety, pollution prevention and control, promotion of high-quality development, protection and promotion of the protection and promotion of the Yellow River culture, protection and supervision, legal responsibility and supplementary provisions, a total of 122 articles
.
This law, which will come into effect on April 1, 2023, will provide a strong guarantee
for promoting ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin on the track of rule of law.

The Yellow River Protection Law puts forward clear requirements for the ecological protection and high-quality development of the chemical industry, and proposes that the industrial structure and layout of the Yellow River Basin should be compatible with the carrying capacity of the ecosystem and resources and environment of the Yellow River Basin, and strictly limit the layout of high-water-consuming, high-pollution or high-energy-consuming projects
in the Yellow River Basin 。 It is forbidden to build or expand new chemical parks and chemical projects within the shoreline control area of the main tributaries of the Yellow River; Promote the resource utilization of industrial wastewater, and promote water conservation in energy, chemical, building materials and other water-consuming industries; Conduct investigation and assessment of key groundwater pollution sources and surrounding groundwater environmental risks such as chemical parks and chemical projects along rivers and lakes, and take risk prevention and remediation measures; Coking, chemical and other industries shall carry out cleaner production and implement mandatory cleaner production audits
in accordance with law.

Yuan Jie, director of the Administrative Law Office of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, said that the fragile ecological environment is the biggest problem in
the Yellow River Basin.
The Yellow River Protection Law makes it clear that the state strengthens ecological protection and restoration of the Yellow River Basin, adheres to integrated protection and restoration, and implements systematic governance that focuses on natural restoration and combines natural restoration with artificial restoration; The state strengthens the comprehensive management, systematic management and source management of environmental pollution in the Yellow River Basin, and promotes the comprehensive improvement
of the environment of key rivers and lakes.

Yuan Jie said that insufficient high-quality development is the biggest shortcoming of the Yellow River Basin
.
The Yellow River Protection Law mainly makes the following provisions on promoting high-quality development: First, it is clear that to promote the high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin, we should adhere to the new development concept, accelerate the green transformation of development methods, and optimize and adjust the regional economic and productivity layout
on the premise of ecological protection.
Second, it is required to coordinate the implementation of the ecological protection and high-quality development strategy of the Yellow River Basin and the rural revitalization strategy, the new urbanization strategy and the regional coordinated development strategy such as the rise of the central region and the large-scale development of
the western region.
The third is to stipulate that local people's governments at or above the county level in the Yellow River Basin shall promote the high-quality development of manufacturing and the transformation of resource-based industries, develop modern industries with characteristic advantages and clean and low-carbon energy according to local conditions, and promote the optimization and adjustment
of industrial structure, energy structure, transportation structure, etc.
The fourth is to stipulate
urban development, beautiful rural construction, infrastructure construction, modern agricultural development, scientific and technological innovation, green and low-carbon lifestyle, etc.

Zhao Ke, deputy director of the Department of Regulations and Standards of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, said that the Yellow River Protection Law specifically stipulates the assessment and control of environmental risks of toxic and harmful chemicals, as well as the control and treatment
of new pollutants.
This is the first time that the control of new pollutants has been clearly required at the legal level, which is a major breakthrough and innovation in
the legal system.