On the Application of Exemption Grounds in Environmental Tort Liability under China's Civil Code

China's environmental protection laws such as China's Environmental Protection Law and China's Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law do not provide for exemption grounds for environmental tort liability. According to the applicable rules of the law, if there are no special laws on environmental protection, the provisions of China’s Civil Code shall apply. However, Chapter 7 of the Part 7 of China’s Civil Code does not specifically provide for exemption grounds from environmental tort liability, so only the general provisions of Chapter 8 of the Part 1 and Chapter 1 of the Part 7 of the Civil Code can be applied. However, due to the special nature of environmental tort liability, not all exemption grounds are suitable as exemption grounds for environmental tort liability. By interpreting the system and purpose of legal provisions, combined with the strictest environmental protection policies implemented in China, the intentional of the victim is an exemption from environmental tort liability; Force majeure as an exemption can be conditionally applied to environmental tort liability; Emergency avoidance is only applicable to liability for marine environmental pollution damage and should not be used as a general exemption for environmental tort liability.