China makes officials liable for environmental damage for life

Revised personnel rules tie performance to eco-impact more closely as the country shifts gear from growth to sustainability

The conditions and potential disciplinary action were outlined in revised rules released on Tuesday by the Communist Party and the State Council, China’s cabinet.

Under the rules, officials will be held to account for serious environmental damage “regardless of whether they have been transferred, reassigned, promoted, left their jobs or retired”.

The Central Organisation Department, the party body overseeing personnel appointments, said that despite “historic” and wide-ranging changes, underlying and longer-term pressures on environmental protection had yet to be fundamentally eased.

The changes are linked to President Xi Jinping’s “new development philosophy” and are part of China’s push to build what it describes as an “ecological civilisation”.

Both concepts feed into an environmental protection policy framework meant to shift China away from a growth model focused on quantity towards one that prioritises quality and sustainability.