Supreme court lends support to NGOs in lawsuits against polluters

China’s environmental protection NGOs will now have their court charges reduced when taking polluters to court and defendants will be required to pay court costs when plaintiffs win lawsuits, Bloomberg reported, citing a statement from the Supreme People’s Court. China’s biggest changes to its environmental protection laws in 25 years came into effect on January 1 that prescribes harsher punishment for polluters, and a judicial interpretation issued Tuesday by the court enables environmental-protection NGOs to bring lawsuits against violators nationwide.