Environmental Science at a Transformational Crossroads: Two Decades of the “National Conference on Environmental Chemistry” and the Future of New Pollutants Research

Abstract Environmental science is undergoing a critical transition from pollutant-specific and end-of-pipe control to systemic sustainability science. The development trajectory of the Chinese “National Conference on Environmental Chemistry (NCEC)” provides an empirical lens through which to examine this broader disciplinary transformation. This study analyzes how evolving governance demands, increasing environmental complexity, and advances in analytical and computational technologies have collectively reshaped research priorities, disciplinary boundaries, and modes of scientific collaboration. The emergence of new pollutant governance as a central frontier reflects the limitations of conventional single-medium and single-pollutant regulatory frameworks. Persistent, low-dose, and mixture-prone contaminants highlight the need for integrative approaches that link molecular mechanisms with cross-media processes and system-level outcomes. While it also accelerating methodological advances in non-target screening, computational prediction, systems toxicology, and cross-media risk assessment. The NCEC experience further illustrates how scientific platforms can connect frontier research, interdisciplinary integration, resource mobilization, and science–policy dialogue. Drawing on the NCEC, we provide an empirically grounded perspective on how environmental science should move beyond reactive remediation toward anticipatory risk assessment, upstream prevention, sustainable chemical design, and system-level governance, offering a broader framework for aligning research innovation with ecological resilience in global environmental governance.