"Having the ecological and environmental code as the second code is itself an attitude and a pledge," said Qin Tianbao, dean of Wuhan University Law School. A draft of the code is expected to be ratified at the annual session of the 14th National People's Congress, China's national legislature, currently underway in Beijing. It will become China's second formal statutory code after the Civil Code was adopted in 2020. This marks China's evolution from pollution control to integrating pollution prevention, ecological protection, and green, low-carbon development into a comprehensive national strategy, said Qin.