China's new environmental law

In China, some industry polluters used to take risks and flouting environmental laws because they realize it’s cheaper to break the law than obey it. Will such situation continues?

A new Chinese environmental protection law came into effect at the beginning of this year with the aim to harmonize economic growth and environmental protection. This new environmental protection law is the most stringent law related to environmental protection in China. Environmental offenses are now facing harsher penalties.

Just two days before the new law came into effect, six polluting companies in Jiangsu were ordered by the province’s highest court to pay 160 million yuan ($26 million) for illegally dumping almost 25,000 tons of chemical waste into two rivers in 2012. Although the fines are still smaller than that in EU and US, it marked the biggest ever award in public interest environmental lawsuit in China.

Under the new law, the Ministry of Environmental Protection has gained more power. It has the right to seal premises and seize property of polluters. The new environmental law in China gives the general public more hope to combat with more serious environmental problems, yet the success of the new law still depends on how the law is enforced. In a recent Nature comment some limitations in the China's new environmental law were identified:

1) Other legislations such as agriculture, forestry, grassland and water laws can trump the environmental law and challenge its provisions.

2) fragmented and overlapping structure of environmental governance in China make the enforcement of the environmental protection law difficult

3) No acknowledgement of citizens' basic right to live in an environment suitable for life appears in the new law. Citizens, civic groups are not allowed to bring lawsuits against the government for serious lapses in air or water quality.

4) Local government grips the environmental governance exercised by controlling the staffing and financing of local environmental protection bureaus, by which environmental governance in China is mainly exercised.

For more information, read
http://www.nature.com/news/policy-four-gaps-in-china-s-new-environmental-law-1.16736
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