Antipollution law gets a performance review

The revised Environmental Protection Law has performed well in reducing pollution since taking effect on Jan 1, 2015, by providing new enforcement tools, including higher fines and other legal sanctions, according to an assessment released on Monday.

The revised law, regarded as the strongest version ever in China, allows environmental authorities to levy fines on polluters on a daily basis with no cap, which has brought swift corrective action, the assessment said.

At least 85 percent of the companies surveyed after being fined said they had stopped their excessive emissions. In some regions, 95 percent said they had.