Review the Evolution of Chinese Legislation on Air Pollution Prevention and Control

As the quality of the atmospheric environment continues to deteriorate, the demand for improving the quality of atmosphere environment sharply increases. The State Council of China issued the Air Pollution Action Plan 2013 to tackle the air pollution problem. Then the Air Pollution Control Law was revised in 2015 and 2018. The main purpose of this article is to introduce the evolution of Chinese legislation on air pollution prevention and control, analyze the regulation strategy change in the legislation of air pollution regulation, and evaluate the Air Pollution Control Law. From the analysis the article finds that the administrative agencies not only passively enforce the law but also take an active role in developing new rules and modifying inappropriate old rules. The strategies in the Air Pollution Control Law are effective to settle the air pollution problem in current China. The conclusion is that the core of the Air Pollution Control Law enforcement still comes from the administration. Such a regulation strategy can achieve good results in a short period of time under political pressure. The legislature needs to find other path from the long-term perspective of the air pollution control law.