On April 24,2014, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, approved the most sweeping revisions of the Environmental Protection Law in more than two decades. The changes bring the promise of tougher penalties for those polluting the environment.

For the past 25 years, the law had not been changed since it took effect in 1989. In August 2012, a draft amendment was submitted to the NPC Standing Committee for its first deliberation, starting the two-year amendment process.

The revised law will go into effect from January 1, 2015.