Light pollution is included in the national law for the first time! The opportunities and challenges for the lighting industry are

On March 12, the Ecological Environment Code of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the "Ecological Environment Code") was adopted at the Fourth Session of the 14th National People's Congress and will come into effect on August 15, 2026.

 It is noteworthy for the lighting industry that the "Ecological Environment Code" comprehensively introduces provisions on "light pollution prevention and control" in Chapter 36 of Sub-Section 9 of Part 2 "Pollution Prevention and Control". This marks the formal inclusion of light pollution prevention and control into the national ecological environment governance system, and it is also the first time that China has systematically stipulated light pollution control at the national code level.

 Although the "Light Pollution Prevention and Control" section is not extensive, consisting of only seven chapters, four of them are related to the word "lighting," indicating the deep interconnection between lighting and light pollution prevention and control.

The following is the content of the chapter on light pollution prevention and control:

     Chapter 36: Prevention and Control of Light Pollution

     (Full text of the article)

Article 667

"Light pollution" as referred to in this Law denotes the phenomenon where excessive or improper use of artificial lighting, or improper alteration of sunlight exposure conditions, causes interference with human vision in the surrounding living environment.

Article 668

The competent department of ecology and environment of the State Council shall exercise unified supervision and management over the prevention and control of light pollution nationwide. The competent departments of ecology and environment of local people's governments shall exercise unified supervision and management over the prevention and control of light pollution within their respective administrative regions.

The relevant departments of housing and urban-rural development, transportation, etc. of the people's governments at or above the county level shall supervise and manage the prevention and control of light pollution within their respective responsibilities.

Article 669

When formulating territorial spatial planning and related plans, people's governments at all levels and their relevant departments shall fully consider the potential light pollution impacts that may arise from urban and rural regional development, renovation, and construction projects. They shall make overall planning and reasonable arrangements for land use and construction layout to prevent and mitigate light pollution.

Article 670

The standardization department of the State Council, together with relevant departments such as housing and urban-rural development, ecological environment, transportation, etc., shall, in accordance with the requirements of light pollution prevention and control and the national economic and technological conditions, stipulate reasonable light limits in the technical specifications or product quality standards for lighting products, outdoor display products, traffic fill lights, building glass and materials.

Article 671

Advertising screens, billboards, lightboxes, media facade walls, roads, sports stadiums, construction sites, etc. should be designed, installed, and used with lighting facilities in accordance with national regulations, regularly maintained, and effective measures taken to prevent and reduce light pollution.

Article 672

The use of building materials such as glass curtain walls on the external surfaces of buildings and structures shall comply with national regulations, with rational design and material selection, to prevent and mitigate light pollution.

Article 673

Local people's governments at or above the county level shall implement zoning management for light pollution prevention and control based on actual situations, and strengthen control over artificial lighting and sunlight exposure conditions in areas that require special protection.

At the same time, the second chapter of the fifth part of the Ecological Environment Code, "Legal Responsibilities and Supplementary Provisions," also includes administrative penalty provisions for light pollution behavior, which clarifies the illegal punishment mechanism for light pollution from the first national legal responsibility section.

Content is as follows：

Article 1210: Anyone who violates the provisions of this Law by failing to take effective measures to prevent or reduce light pollution on advertising screens, billboards, lightboxes, media facades, roads, sports stadiums, construction sites, etc., and interfering with the normal life and transportation of others, shall be ordered to rectify by the competent departments of housing and urban-rural development, ecological environment, transportation, and public security traffic management in accordance with their respective responsibilities; Those who refuse to make corrections shall be fined not less than 5000 yuan but not more than 50000 yuan.

This also means that after the formal implementation of the Ecological Environment Code, relevant units and individuals in the lighting industry will bear administrative responsibility if they cause light pollution and affect the public environment in advertising media facilities, building facade lighting, road and sports stadium lighting, construction lighting, and other aspects.

It is precisely because of the strict implementation of the legal system and the introduction of the "Prevention and Control of Light Pollution" provisions in the Ecological Environment Code that China's lighting industry will inevitably face a painful period of reshuffle, but more importantly, it will be a new opportunity for reform and development.

Challenge

The implementation of the "Prevention and Control of Light Pollution" provisions in the Ecological Environment Code requires all sectors of the lighting industry to fully comply with the restrictions on brightness, illumination, projection direction, and usage period in the code and supporting standards. Especially in sensitive areas such as residential areas and astronomical observation areas, traditional high brightness and all night lighting modes are difficult to sustain, which invisibly increases the compliance costs of participating urban lighting construction enterprises and institutions.

For manufacturing lighting enterprises, the lamps and control systems they currently supply to urban lighting construction may not meet the new requirements for light pollution prevention and control such as "low light", "no light", and "shielding". They urgently need to turn to new technologies such as energy-saving, intelligent, and directional lighting, which also puts forward new requirements for the improvement of manufacturing equipment and production team technology level of such lighting enterprises.

In addition, although the article on "Prevention and Control of Light Pollution" in the Ecological Environment Code clearly states that the ecological environment department is responsible for unified supervision, and the housing, construction, transportation and other departments are responsible for division of labor, the grassroots law enforcement ability, standardization, and evidence collection mechanism still need to be improved. Lighting companies still face uncertainty in participating in urban lighting construction.

Opportunity

The introduction of the "Prevention and Control of Light Pollution" provisions in the Ecological Environment Code will directly promote the priority adoption of low interference, adjustable light, full shading, low color temperature and other green lighting technologies in government, real estate, commercial and other fields. This will enable lighting enterprises that comply with green and low-carbon indicators to gain a competitive advantage in the market.

It is worth mentioning that if lighting companies can lay out products that meet national standards such as the "LED Display Interference Light Evaluation Requirements" and the "Outdoor Lighting Interference Light Limitation Specification" in advance, they will take the initiative in bidding and project approval. Especially in high-risk areas such as urban landscape lighting, outdoor advertising screens, traffic lighting, and construction site searchlights, lighting companies with "light pollution prevention and control solutions" are more likely to obtain market orders.

In addition, the further implementation of the "Prevention and Control of Light Pollution" provisions in the Ecological Environment Code will also explore the technological upgrading and product innovation space of lighting enterprises in the fields of intelligent control, low light/no light monitoring, dynamic dimming, etc., and increase their opportunities to participate in the lighting renovation of key urban areas.

Conclusion

After the prevention and control of light pollution is included in the national code, the lighting industry will welcome a new round of development vitality and shoulder a heavier social and livelihood mission. In this regard, all sectors of the lighting industry need to actively adapt to policy changes, strengthen technological innovation, improve product quality and service levels, in order to stand undefeated in the fierce market competition, and contribute their own strength to the sustainable development of urban night economy.