Environmental Legal System Research Articles

Empowering air quality prediction through "AI + big data technology" in the perspective of environmental lawA quasi-natural experiment analysis based on the "national big data comprehensive experimental zone" pilot program

The current environmental legal system primarily focuses on environmental pollution and ecological damage, yet it does not adequately address climate change as an environmental risk issue. Consequently, environmental law struggles to directly respond to air pollution and climate change. Due to the complexity of air pollution regulation, there is a need for legal frameworks that extend beyond conventional environmental pollution controls. The advent of "AI + Big Data" has provided new momentum and opportunities for predicting and improving air quality. This paper, viewed through the lens of environmental law and based on the policy of the National Big Data Comprehensive Experimental Zone, combined with the Difference-in-Differences (DID) model, outlines the impact mechanisms of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence in empowering air quality prediction and improvement. It also explores the path choices for achieving the objectives of accuracy and effectiveness in air quality prediction from the perspective of environmental law.

Analysis of Chinese Environmental Legal System and International Legal Frameworks on Supporting Green and Low-Carbon Development

The aim of this study is to analyze the Chinese legal system and international legal frameworks on supporting green and low-carbon development, one of the strategies adopted to achieve sustainable development while effectively addressing climate change. However, different projects and measures supporting green and low-carbon development may affect one another if legal and policy measures are not well established and implemented. Globally, different international instruments highlight various commitments that guide the implementation of green and low-carbon development. At the domestic level, China has numerous plans and policies aimed at achieving these goals, and both international and domestic measures on green and low-carbon development are interdependent. This study found that China has different environmental laws that can advance green and low-carbon development. However, these laws often lack specific references to “green and low-carbon development,” a phrase that appears primarily in policies. This gap may lead to a lack of coherence between those policies and the absence of specific institutions dedicated to these goals. This study recommends that specific laws can be enacted from different existing Chinese plans and policies to ensure a coherent and long-term framework for green and low-carbon development. With the existence of such a law, responsible institutions will be established, and the enforcement of policies and plans related to green and low-carbon development will be ensured.

Nature as a Legal Subject in the Preparation of Environmental Impact Assessments (Amdal): A Green Constitution Perspective for Social-Ecological Justice

The analysis of Environmental Impact Assessments (Amdal) in project plans and/or activities has been considered crucial to anticipate environmental pollution and damage within the environmental legal system regulated by Indonesia’s Environmental Law. Amdal serves as a tool for communities to challenge various development projects that pose threats to their environment. However, the government has recently sought to narrow the space for public participation and the functions of Amdal, as evident in Presidential Regulation No. 2 of 2022 on Job Creation. This normative legal research aims to examine the urgency and concept of Amdal from a green constitution perspective. The study reveals that, from the green constitution perspective, the existence of Amdal with broad participation is essential. Instead of restricting it only to affected communities, as outlined in Presidential Regulation No. 2 of 2022 on Job Creation, participation in the preparation, submission of objections, and assessment of Amdal documents, according to the green constitution perspective, should be expanded not only to the general public but also to non-human entities, such as rivers, mountains, land, flora-fauna, and others. This study is expected to contribute to the revitalization of an ecocentric Amdal concept in line with green constitution principles, supporting efforts toward more ecocentric environmental protection. In a broader vision, this study is anticipated to contribute to the transformation of environmental law and the constitution to be more responsive to social-ecological justice.

Public Voices in the Environmental Decision-Making in Georgia

The article presents the results of the scientific research and gives the ways to solve the problems dedicated to PP (public participation) in the process of EDM (environmental decision-making) in Georgia. Several obstacles were found, by studying the environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Georgia. All necessary information was collected through interviews and questionnaires. The study discusses the existing legislation on this issue and aims to find answers to these obstacles. Four hypotheses were developed - transparency in the decision-making process promotes successful public participation, effective cooperation with one another is a better way for NGOs to participate in the environmental decision-making process, Georgian NGO’s successful participation in the process of DM (decision-making) was related to the development of an environmental legal system, self-financing helps the Environmental NGOs in Georgia to improve their financial status and increase their flexibility in the EDM process. The Soviet regime caused the nonexistence of PP approaches in EDM. Currently, many international and trans-boundary projects are taking place and will be completed shortly in Georgia. The participation of the public, especially non-governmental organizations is a key point and crucial element in decision making as most of these developments entail additional environmental problems and to prevent damage to the environment and foster sustainable development when such projects are completed. The research gives key provisions that require improvement to increase the effectiveness of PP in EDM process.
 Keywords: public participation, environment, decision-making, NGOs

Analyzing and Investigating the Legal Aspects of Green Policy

The legal dimensions of green policy are crucial in propelling tangible transformation towards sustainable development. Gaining insights from other viewpoints, including those from the public, commercial, administrative, and international sectors, can facilitate the development and execution of policies that are both effective and comprehensive. Green policy is incorporated into the environmental legal system from a public law standpoint, with the aim of ensuring justice and safeguarding the environment against harm. Private law serves as a strong defense for the human rights of residents to reside in a clean and safe environment, achieved through the use of legal agreements and legal actions. From an administrative law perspective, green policy is regarded as a mechanism that governs and oversees government actions, ensuring their alignment with ecologically sustainable ideals. Indonesia must fulfill its commitments in global agreements such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement, which also possess legal standing at the international level.

Legal Ideals Pancasila in the Development of a National Environmental Legal System

The discussion of legal ideals Pancasila in Indonesia has become a prolonged discourse and may not be final. This is motivated by the dynamics and problems of the nation and state in various sectors of life, one of which is the environmental sector. This paper aims to examine the potential for developing legal ideals in the national environmental law system. The research method used is normative legal research. The results of the study show that in its implementation the legal ideals of Pancasila are still not running as they should in the environmental sector in Indonesia. This is because there are deviations in values ​​in the preparation of legal policies and action agendas. In the development of a national environmental law system, legal ideals cannot be seen and read explicitly, but must continue to be explored and interpreted in every Pancasila value. The ideals of Pancasila law contain environmental values such as ecological, ecoreligious, ecosocial, and ecocracy values. The legal ideals of Pancasila are positioned and functioned as a way of life, guiding norms, and critical norms in the legal agenda in the environmental sector

Analysis of environmental legal system of shale gas fracturing in China

Hydraulic fracturing is a technique for shale gas production. The use of this technology allows natural gas and oil to be economically produced from shale formations. However, the application of fracturing is accompanied by potential environmental risks such as water waste and pollution, ecological damage, air pollution and earthquakes. In China, shale gas development as one of the key ways to achieve energy supply security and its 2030 peak carbon target. China has liberalized the restrictions on extraction entities and has taken numerous measures to encourage shale gas development. The regulation of hydraulic fracturing and other environmental issues poses a new challenge to the harmonization of energy and environmental legislation in China. Based on the analysis of the existing system, this study proposed the shortcomings of the current Chinese shale gas environmental regulatory framework, which indicate that the legal level for hydraulic fracturing is low; there are loopholes in the legal rules regulating the environmental problems caused by hydraulic fracturing, and the environmental and energy laws are not compatible. A typical case of Fuling, China was selected for analysis. In addition, it is suggested that Chinese regulators should develop a special shale gas law, introducing appropriate hydraulic fracturing regulations to fill the legal regulatory loopholes.

Towards a Fairer Future: Examining Environmental Permits in Indonesia and Sweden Through the Lens of Sustainable Development and Equity

Objective: Through the lens of a comparative investigation of Indonesia and Sweden, this paper examines the process through which appropriate environmental permits have been developed in this period of sustainable development. Methods: In the current research, the approach of comparative law is utilised to evaluate and analyse the various environmental legal systems that are in place in Indonesia and Sweden. The comparative law approach is a research strategy used to examine the legal systems of two or more countries or jurisdictions to find similarities and differences in certain laws. Results: According to the findings of this research, Indonesia and Sweden have quite different systems in place for issuing permits for activities that have the potential to cause damage to the environment, particularly in terms of the level of public participation. In contrast to Indonesia, which places restrictions on participation that are restricted to only those who are directly impacted, Sweden places a priority on the participation of those who are potentially disadvantaged. This study also stresses the importance of the cooperation of environmentalists in order to have a better understanding of the chain consequences that are caused by activities involving the use of the environment. Regulation to Replace Law Number 2 of 2022 in Indonesia eliminates the participation of environmentalists and limits the participation of the public. This has given rise to questions about whether or not the environment would be protected equitably. Suggestions: According to the findings of this research, to achieve an appropriate environmental permit in Indonesia, there needs to be a convergence between the interests of business owners, the communities where they live, and environmental protection.

The role of environmental justice reform in corporate green transformation: Evidence from the establishment of China’s environmental courts

Purpose: The establishment of environmental courts in China provides a good opportunity to explores the economic effects of environmental justice reform. This paper investigates how the environmental justice reform can influence corporate green transformation from the perspective of green technology innovation and explores the potential mechanisms of how the environmental courts affect green technology innovation. The heterogeneous effects of environmental courts are also considered.Methodology: Using the establishment of environmental courts in China as a quasi-natural experiment, this paper adopts a difference-in-difference (DID) method to conduct empirical test based on data on Chinese listed A-shared firms from 2004 to 2019. Moreover, this paper use propensity score matching (PSM), tobit and negative binomial regression method to address possible estimation bias.Findings: The establishment of environmental courts significantly enhances green technology innovation among enterprises. The more effective judicial enforcement and better public awareness of the environment brought by the environmental courts will increase the cost of illegality and external supervision pressure for firms, which will lead firms to innovate in green technology. Furthermore, the positive and significant effect of environmental courts on green technology innovation is more pronounced in state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and enterprises located in regions where local protectionism is more serious or regions with more ideal environmental legal system.

Research on the Realization Path of Legal Governance of Ecological Environment in China in the New Era

The new era puts forward stricter requirements for ecological environment governance. At present, there are some problems in ecological environment governance in China, such as incomplete legislative system, unclear law enforcement authority, insufficient ability, limited functions, poor judicial protection, and inadequate law-abiding. Therefore, in the new era, strengthening the process of environmental legislation, perfecting the environmental legal system, strengthening the construction of the law enforcement system of ecological environment, constructing the judicial guarantee of ecological environment, and promoting the whole people to abide by the law are the only paths and choices to strengthen ecological environment governance.

La urgente articulación entre la certificación y la fiscalización ambiental, a propósito del requerimiento de modificación del estudio de impacto ambiental del proyecto minero las Bambas

 The environmental management of investment projects in Peru has a great challenge: to guarantee their environmental viability through the search for a balance between the environmental impacts generated and the management measures implemented to prevent, correct, mitigate and even compensate them; all with the purpose of complying with the central objective of our environmental legal system, sustainable development. However, what happens when this task is found to be incomplete? When, for reasons unrelated and/or linked to the environmental impact assessment process, it is verified, during the exercise of the environmental supervision function, that the environmental management instruments do not identify all the impacts that in practice are being generated when they enter into execution. Our environmental legal system has regulated this assumption, establishing the possibility that the environmental supervision authority may require the updating or modification of the environmental study, in order to incorporate the unforeseen negative environmental impacts. This article analyzes this scenario and the challenges that an administrative measure of this nature represents in the framework of the necessary articulation between the National System of Environmental Impact Assessment and the National System of Evaluation and Control, two key pillars for the adequate environmental management of investment projects.

Research on regional environmental legal system to solve toxic and harmful pollution

With the development of economy and the promotion of industrial urban agglomeration, the toxic and harmful substance in Yangtze River Delta has become a difficult problem. Toxic and harmful substances not only include NO2, CO and SO2 in the air which affect people’s health, but also include ammonia nitrogen, petroleum, volatile phenol discharged from waste water caused rivers pollution. From the perspective of regional environmental legal reform, this paper puts forward some suggestions on how to solve toxic and harmful substance pollution by using the principles of law and economics. It is suggested that distinctive and effective legal system measures that corresponding to the local environment should be taken by the regional environmental laws in our country and moreover, in the process of law making, law enforcement and law-abiding, we should pay attention to the important role of public participation. Finally, we actively absorb foreign classic and effective environmental legislation, making the regional environmental legislation norms more and more internationalized.

A Comparative Study of Regional Environmental Legal Systems between China and the United States

With the spread of economic globalization and with the steady projection rate of regional economic development, an increasing amount of environmental problems have arisen as a result of these progressions. The impact of these environmental problems not only damage our society but also harmful to our physical health (Lu et al., 2015). In order to solve the increasingly severe environmental pollutions, it is necessary to study and improve the regional environmental legal systems. Because of these problems are not caused by any individual, therefore a better understanding of regional environmental legal systems established by various levels of government can further eliminate various environmental concerns and can benefit economic globalization (Wang, 2013). This paper analyzes the similarities and differences of regional environmental legal systems of China and the United States, in order to provide novel ideas to improve regional environmental laws. After evaluating the two of the most industrialized countries in the world, it is vital to absorb the merits of other countries’ legal systems and incorporate with our country’s regional environmental legal system to have a sustainable and growing economy.

Realization of Preventive Function of Environmental Law in the Governance of Risky Society: Based on the Article 39 of the “Environmental Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China”

The protection of public health is one of the legislative purposes of China’s environmental legal system. The “Environmental Protection Law” puts forward the legal goal of “establishing and improving the environment and health monitoring, investigation and risk assessment system”, and incorporates the environmental health risk assessment system into the environment Protect the scope of basic systems, but China’s existing environmental monitoring, environmental impact assessment, and environmental standards cannot achieve the functions of environmental and health risk prevention and regulation. It is necessary to build an environmental health risk assessment system with Chinese characteristics from both physical and procedural aspects.

Environmental Management Supervision Integration Policy on Coal Mining Based on Integrated Principles

Applied Research Featured Higher Education (PTUPT) under Ristekdikti BRIN’s grant for 2019/2020 is research to find a form of environmental management supervision policy towards coal mining that regulates the form of coordination between stakeholders, authority and supervisory objects, as well as a commitment of active role between government, business, and community in the supervision of environmental management. The results of the study are a recommendation of the South Kalimantan Provincial Legislature to make a PERDA initiative related to environmental management which is expected to be the right step to maintain a sustainable environment. The method of approach in this study is socio juridical, with qualitative and quantitative analysis methods. The results showed that both in terms of regulation and implementation, coordination of supervision implementation has not been regulated and implemented optimally, so it has not supported the realization of integrated environmental management supervision based on the principle of integrated. Based on this, it is necessary to establish an environmental management legal system in the form of local regulations whose content material contains an integrated surveillance system with a shared commitment between stakeholders. Keywords: policy; supervision; coal mining; integrated; Coordination DOI: 10.7176/JLPG/103-05 Publication date: November 30 th 2020

Exploring the impact of environmental regulations on happiness: new evidence from China.

Lower happiness caused by environmental pollution has attracted widespread attention, but existing studies have ignored the impact of environmental governance on happiness, and hardly a research has discussed whether environmental regulations will affect happiness. To make up for the above shortfall, based on the micro data come from Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) in 2015 and the macro data of 28 provinces in China from 2013 to 2015, this study distinguishes three types of environmental regulations which are economical environmental regulation (EER), legal environmental regulation (LER) and supervised environmental regulation (SER), and the econometrical analysis of the linear relationship or potential nonlinear relationship between them and happiness is carried by ordinary least square (OLS) and ordered probit (Oprobit). Considering the time lag of policy implementation, this paper further tests the lagging effects. The results show that EER significantly improves happiness in the long run after implementation, and LER has no significant effect on happiness in the current year and the following year, while the significant nonlinear relationship appear after 2years, whereas SER has a negative effect on happiness in the year and 2years later. Therefore, in addition to continuing to increase government investment in environmental administration with adequate budgets, local governments should strengthen the environmental legal system and administrative accountability. And the most important of all, the government should create more avenues for public participation and pay enough attention to the supervision of the public. Finally, this research has great theoretical and realistic significance for the government to control environmental pollution.

China’s historical evolution of environmental protection along with the forty years’ reform and opening-up

Along with the 40 years of reform and opening-up, China’s ecological and environmental management system has been evolving continuously. Since the start of the ecological and environmental protection in 1972, China has witnessed “great leaps” of reform on environmental management system about once every 10 years, in order to address the prominent environmental issues at different development stages, and continuously reform, innovate and develop the ecological and environmental governance systems and modes with Chinese characteristics. China adheres to solve environmental problems in the process of development, takes the improvement of the ecological and environmental quality as the core task, and gradually builds its ecological and environmental management systems conforming to the characteristics of different development stages, including a sound ecological and environmental planning & policy system, an improved ecological and environmental governance system and a complete ecological and environmental legal system. During the process of building the socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, we should aim at the strategic goal of building a Beautiful China, keep focused on China while stay connected with the world, adhere to green development, accomplish top-level design, build a new pattern of ecological and environmental management system, and co-construct a clean and beautiful world.

Study on environmental legal systems of different regions in China and impact on energetic cooperation

Based on the present situation of China’s environmental law system under the rapid economic development, this paper expounds the significance of regional environmental law research. Through the comparison of regional environment and legal system between China and the United States, this paper analyzes the impact of domestic environmental legal system on energy cooperation under the background of Belt and Road Initiative.

Exploration on the perfection of regional environmental legal system and revelation on energy collaboration

This article takes the law economics angle as the starting point, puts forward the suggestion for the improvement of the regional environmental law system. Some suggestions are put forward, such as reforming the punishment mechanism from the angle of law and economy, improving the national awareness of environmental protection and promoting the internationalization of the mechanism of environmental protection. To promote the energy cooperation under the background of Belt and Road Initiative, in view of its great importance to China, by perfecting the environmental legal system and constructing the green energy system to protect the green energy system.

The Legal Conflicts, the Legislative Vacancies and the Legislative Lags in the Chinese Environmental Legal System

The inconsistency and disharmony in China’s environmental legal system are seriously undermining the authority and effectiveness of environmental laws, making it hard to achieve the national environmental legislative goals. It is found in this study that at least 18 administrative regulations and rules conflict with the five recently-revised environmental laws. The legislative vacancy rate of province-level environmental laws reaches 27.8%, and that of city-level environmental laws in the major cities reaches 59.7%. Besides, 66% of the local including both province-level and city-level environmental laws have the problem of legislative lags, with an average lag of 2547.8 days. In addition, there are many legal conflicts between national environmental laws and local environmental laws. In order to help China to build a harmonious and unified environmental legal system, some suggestions are proposed in this study, including comprehensively examining the lower-level environmental laws, strengthening the leading role of local people’s congresses in environmental legislation, improving the construction of filing and review mechanism, and optimizing the mechanisms for information disclosure and public participation.