Chinese officials will be held responsible over their lifetime for the damage caused to environment during their terms in office, a central leading group in charge of the country's overall reforms said at a recent meeting.

Officials responsible for ecological damage will be held accountable whether they have moved to other posts, been promoted, or retired, it vowed.

The establishment of such a lifelong accountability system for the environment is indeed necessary, given that few officials have been directly punished for the environmental destruction their decisions caused under the pretext of economic development over the past decades.