The article raises the problem of defining a new concept – “environmental shock”, which is absent from the current list of basic environmental terms and definitions in modern environmental policy and law enforcement practice. The author proposes a definition of environmental shock as an event that destroys the reproductive function of the environment and significantly limits society's ability to reclaim it. The connection between this concept and other concepts in the field of environmental management (“environmental disaster”, “emergency situation”, “environmental crisis”) is shown. The necessity of including this term in environmental legislation is substantiated, the relationship between the categories of "environmental shock" and "economic shock", the causes and consequences of their identification are disclosed. The conclusion on the necessity of adopting the "Environmental Code of the Russian Federation" and the Federal Law "On Environmental Culture", the drafts of which have long been discussed but have not yet been adopted, is substantiated.