The Measures for Investigating the Responsibility of Party and Government Leading Cadres for Ecological Environmental Damage were issued!

Recently, the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council issued the Measures for Investigating the Responsibility of Party and Government Leading Cadres for Ecological Environmental Damage, and issued a circular requiring all departments in various regions to comply with it conscientiously. The full text of the Measures for Investigating the Responsibility of

Party and Government Leading Cadres for Ecological Environmental Damage is as follows. Measures for

Investigating the Responsibility of

Party and Government Leading Cadres for Ecological Environmental Damage (approved by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on August 9, 2015) The General Office of the State Council promulgated the revision of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on July 9, 2026 (promulgated by

the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council on August 3, 2026) Article 1 In order to uphold and strengthen the Party's overall leadership in the construction of ecological civilization and comprehensively promote the construction of a beautiful China, These Measures are formulated in accordance with relevant Party regulations and laws to strengthen the responsibility of Party and government leading cadres for ecological environmental protection and promote the establishment and practice of correct view of political achievement. Article

2 These Measures shall apply to the investigation of responsibility for ecological environmental damage of leading members of local Party committees and governments at or above the county level and their relevant departments, leading members of relevant departments of central and state organs, and leaders of relevant institutions of the above-mentioned departments. The investigation of responsibility for ecological environmental damage of leading members of

townships (streets), institutions and various development zones, state-owned enterprises and their internal institutions, and leaders of affiliated enterprises shall be carried out with reference to these Measures. Article

3 The following principles shall be adhered to in the investigation of responsibility for ecological environmental damage of leading cadres of the Party and the government:

(1) The Party and the government shall share the same responsibility and shall be held accountable for their dereliction of duty;

(2) The Party and the government shall be held accountable in accordance with the law and regulations, and shall be precise and effective;

and (3) The Party and the government shall be seriously held accountable and shall be held accountable for life. Article

4 In any of the following circumstances, the principal responsible persons of the relevant local Party committees and governments shall be investigated for their responsibilities:

(1) Failure to implement the principles, policies and decision-making arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council on the construction of ecological civilization and the protection of the ecological environment. Organizing and implementing the task of deepening the reform of ecological civilization system and promoting the construction of ecological environment governance system as a whole are not in place, resulting in prominent ecological environment problems or obvious deterioration of ecological environment during the term of office;

(2) Decisions made violate the Party's internal regulations, laws, regulations, policies and plans on ecological environment protection, or blindly make decisions regardless of the ecological environment, breaking through the red line of ecological protection, the bottom line of environmental quality and the upper line of resource utilization;

(3) The implementation of the objectives and tasks of promoting the overall green transformation of economic and social development as a whole is not effective, and the implementation of land and space planning, ecological environment zoning control, and rigid constraints on water resources are not in place, resulting in serious consequences or adverse effects;

(4) Promoting the implementation of the responsibility of ecological environment protection is not in place, and prevaricating in the cooperation of ecological environment protection, resulting in serious consequences or adverse effects;

(5) Serious environmental pollution and major ecological damage incidents and accidents occur in the region, or the principal responsible persons of the Party Committee and the government fail to deal with serious environmental pollution and major ecological damage (disasters) incidents and accidents;

(6) Promoting the integrated protection and systematic management of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grass and sand is not effective, and organizing and implementing the protection and restoration of the ecological environment is not in place, resulting in serious ecological degradation;

(7) The organization of compensation for ecological environment damage in the region is not in place, there is a big gap in compensation, or the organization of compensation for serious environmental pollution and major ecological damage cases is not effective in promoting the work of compensation for ecological environment damage;

(8) To organize and promote the rectification of the ecological environment problems pointed out by the inspection, the supervision of ecological environment protection, the supervision of natural resources, the audit of the departure of natural resources assets, the suggestions of discipline inspection and supervision, and the judgment of administrative public interest litigation, which are not strict, perfunctory, superficial and false;

(Nine) other circumstances that should be investigated for responsibility.

In case of the above circumstances, while investigating the responsibility of the principal responsible persons of the relevant local Party committees and governments, other relevant leading members and leading members of relevant departments shall be investigated for their corresponding responsibilities according to the division of responsibilities and performance of their duties. Article

5 In any of the following circumstances, the relevant leading members of the relevant local Party committees and governments shall be investigated for their responsibilities:

(1) Supervising and guiding the departments in charge to perform their duties of ecological environment protection and to implement the objectives and tasks of ecological environment protection are not in place. The prevention and control of environmental pollution, the green transformation of development mode, ecological protection and restoration, and the promotion of carbon peak and carbon neutralization have not been carried out effectively, and the outstanding ecological and environmental problems in the industries and fields in charge have not been solved for a long time or have appeared repeatedly;

(2) Failure to supervise, stop or even shield and connive at violations of Party regulations, laws, regulations, policies and plans in the field of ecological environment protection by the departments, industries or fields in charge;

(3) Failure to perform their duties correctly, resulting in the failure of enterprises, institutions and other producers and operators that should be ordered by the government to suspend business or close down seriously polluting the environment or causing major ecological damage according to law;

(4) Failure to deal with serious environmental pollution and major ecological damage (disasters) incidents, accidents and organize investigation and punishment within the scope of their duties;

(5) Failing to arrange the allocation of funds for ecological environment protection in accordance with the provisions of policies or contracts, or illegally occupying or misappropriating the expenditure for ecological environment protection that the government must fulfill its payment obligations, resulting in serious consequences or adverse effects;

(6) Other circumstances that should be investigated for responsibility.

In case of the above circumstances, while investigating the responsibilities of the relevant leading members of the relevant local Party committees and governments, the leading members of the relevant local departments shall be investigated for their corresponding responsibilities according to the division of responsibilities and the performance of their duties. Article

6 In any of the following circumstances, the leading members of the relevant departments of the local government shall be investigated for their responsibilities:

(1) The regulations formulated and the working measures taken are contrary to the Party's internal regulations, laws, regulations, policies and plans on the protection of the ecological environment;

(2) Approval of development and utilization plans and projects in violation of laws, regulations and policies on ecological environment protection;

(3) Inadequate implementation of Party regulations, laws, regulations, policies and plans in the field of ecological environment protection, failure to supervise and inspect the implementation in accordance with the provisions, or perfunctory or dereliction of duty in supervision and inspection, resulting in serious consequences or adverse effects;

(4) There are problems of inaction, disorderly action and irregularity in the implementation of administrative licensing, punishment, compulsion and expropriation in the protection of the ecological environment, resulting in serious environmental pollution or major ecological damage;

(5) Failure to investigate and deal with serious damage to the ecological environment found or reported by the masses in accordance with regulations, or incorrect or ineffective performance of duties in dealing with ecological environment problems that infringe on the interests of the masses;

(6) Failing to report, report or disclose information on environmental pollution and ecological damage (disaster) incidents and accidents in accordance with the provisions;

(7) Failing to transfer clues or cases of violation of discipline and law in the field of ecological environment that should be transferred to the relevant organs for handling in accordance with the provisions;

(Eight) other circumstances that should be investigated for responsibility.

In case of the above circumstances, while investigating the responsibility of the leading members of the relevant departments of the local government, the leaders of the relevant institutions shall be investigated for the corresponding responsibility. Article

7 The leading members of the relevant departments of the central and state organs, the relevant departments of the local Party committees and the leading personnel of the relevant institutions of the above-mentioned departments shall be investigated for their dereliction of duty in fulfilling their responsibilities for the protection of the ecological environment and promoting the construction of ecological civilization, resulting in serious consequences or adverse effects, in accordance with the provisions. Article

8 Leading cadres of the Party and government shall be investigated for their responsibilities under any of the following circumstances by taking advantage of the influence of their positions:

(1) failing to cooperate with the supervision of ecological environment protection, restricting, interfering with or obstructing the supervision and law enforcement of ecological environment protection;

(2) Interfering in judicial activities and intervening in the handling of specific judicial cases concerning the protection of the ecological environment;

(3) Interfering in and intervening in construction projects, resulting in the approval, construction or commissioning (use) of construction projects that do not conform to the laws, regulations, policies and plans concerning the protection of the ecological environment;

(4) instigate to tamper with or forge statistic, survey, assessment, monitoring and impact assessment data in respect of ecological environment protection; and

(5) other circumstances that should be investigated for responsibility.Article

9 Party and government leading cadres may be held accountable for damage to the ecological environment in the following ways:

(1) reminding through conversation, criticizing and educating, ordering inspection, admonishing and encouraging;

(2) organizational adjustment or organizational treatment;

and (3) party discipline and administrative punishment.

The above-mentioned methods of accountability may be used separately or in combination in accordance with the provisions. Those

suspected of violating the law and committing crimes shall be promptly transferred to the relevant organs for handling according to law. Article

10 If the government departments responsible for the supervision and management of ecological environment protection find that there are cases of accountability as stipulated in these Measures, they must investigate the problems of ecological environment damage according to their duties and laws, and in case of major problems of ecological environment damage or complex problems of ecological environment damage across regions, river basins and departments, they may be investigated at a higher level. While making administrative penalty decisions or other disposal decisions according to the results of the investigation, the materials that need to be investigated for the responsibility of the relevant leading cadres shall be transferred to the disciplinary inspection and supervision organs and the organizational (personnel) departments in a timely manner in accordance with the administrative authority of the cadres, and the responsibility investigation shall be carried out in accordance with the rules and regulations. The important ecological environment damage problems found in the work of

inspection, ecological environment protection supervision, natural resources supervision and natural resources assets departure audit, as well as the dereliction of duty and responsibility of leading cadres, shall be transferred to the disciplinary inspection and supervision organs and organizational (personnel) departments in accordance with the relevant powers, procedures and requirements, and shall be investigated for responsibility in accordance with the rules and regulations. If a

judicial organ finds any case of accountability as stipulated in these Measures in the course of handling cases such as ecological environment damage, it shall transfer the problem clues to the disciplinary inspection and supervision organ or the organization (personnel) department in accordance with the provisions. Article

11 Discipline inspection and supervision organs, organizations (personnel) departments and government departments responsible for the supervision and management of ecological environment protection shall improve the communication and cooperation mechanism for investigating the responsibility of ecological environment damage, early detection, early warning and early correction of ecological environment damage problems, and shall be responsible for the protection of ecological environment. According to the needs of the work, we should strengthen consultation and judgment, make comprehensive decisions on accountability or put forward suggestions on accountability. The investigation of

responsibility should generally be made public to the public in an appropriate way. Article

12 The system of lifelong accountability for ecological environmental damage shall be implemented. If the deviation of view of political achievement, the violation of new development concepts and the requirements of high-quality development cause serious damage to the ecological environment, the responsible person must be seriously held accountable regardless of whether he has been transferred, transferred, promoted, resigned or retired. Article

13 Discipline inspection and supervision organs, organizational (personnel) departments and government departments responsible for the supervision and management of ecological environment protection shall investigate but not investigate the circumstances of accountability as stipulated in these Measures, shall transfer but not transfer, and shall investigate but not investigate, the responsible persons concerned shall be investigated in accordance with the provisions. Article

14 Leading cadres of the Party and government shall correctly grasp the policy boundaries in the investigation of responsibility for ecological environmental damage, and make accurate decisions on responsibility identification and accountability investigation in the light of historical causes, nature and degree, response and disposal, consequences and impact, and recovery of losses, so as to prevent the generalization and simplification of accountability. Article

15 If a leading cadre subject to accountability investigation refuses to accept the decision on accountability investigation, he may apply for review, review and appeal in accordance with the prescribed procedures. The relevant organs and departments shall accept and deal with them in accordance with the relevant provisions. During the period

of reexamination, review or appeal, the execution of the decision on accountability investigation shall not be suspended.

Leading cadres shall not be held more accountable for applying for review, review or appeal. Article

16 Leading cadres who are being examined and investigated for the existence of accountability as stipulated in these Measures shall not be promoted, promoted or further used before making a decision on punishment. If the punishment has an impact period, it shall be implemented in accordance with the relevant provisions. Article

17 Provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government may formulate detailed rules for implementation in accordance with these Measures, and refine the relevant circumstances, standards and procedures for accountability investigation in light of actual conditions. The departments responsible for the supervision and management of ecological environment protection under the State Council shall formulate specific institutional measures for the implementation of these Measures. Article

18 These Measures shall be interpreted by the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee in consultation with the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervisory Commission. Article

19 These Measures shall come into force as of the date of promulgation.