China Environmental Law

Hooray, the much anticipated China WEEE post!  I hate to disappoint, but if you’ve read China’s WEEE regulation you have discovered there is not much there there.  This took five years to develop!?
The Regulation for the Administration of the Recovery 1and Disposal of Waste Electric and Electronic Products (”China WEEE,” copy available under Laws & [...]

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Chapters Three and Four of the China’s new Circular Economy Law impose specific requirements on a number of different enterprises and products/activities. Is your business covered?  Check out our handy compilation below.
Enterprises
Industrial Enterprises:

“shall use advanced or applicable water-saving technologies, techniques and equipment, work out and implement water-saving plans, strengthen water-saving management and exercise control over [...]

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The 3R substantive heart of China’s new Circular Economy Law is found in Chapter Three, which deals with “reduction,” and Chapter Four which deals with “recycling and reuse.”  They contain a hodgepodge of requirements which seem to have been somewhat arbitrarily thrown together.
Reduction (Chapter Three)
Another catalogue, this one entitled the Catalogue of the Encouraged, Restricted [...]

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The Circular Economy Law is a curious blend of the usual general policy pronouncements found in Chinese legislation and some unusually specific requirements.  There is little in the law, however, that is new.  Most of its provisions are already on the books in China in either previously enacted laws (most notably the Clean Production Law, [...]

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The final version of the Circular Economy Law is substantially similar to the draft version of June 2007.  The lawmakers have tinkered with some language here and there and made seemingly arbitrary changes to some penalty amounts (some increased, some decreased), but there are only a few substantive revisions.  Most of these revisions were previously [...]

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I apologize for the spotty posting pattern this week.  If you are looking for a really good read this weekend, may I direct your attention to the “Laws & Regulations” sidebar on the right side of this page where you will find a translation of China’s new Circular Economy Law.  The provision of translations of [...]

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It’s official.  The Standing Committee of the 11th National People’s Congress (NPC) passed the Circular Economy Law on Friday.  President Hu Jintao signed it into law.  It will come into force on January 1, 2009.  The law may be found here (Chinese only).
According to a Xinhua report, the law requires

the government to closely monitor energy consumption [...]

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China’s Circular Economy Law is up for its third and final reading this week before the fourth session of the 11th Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress.  According to Xinhua it will likely “be approved at the session which is due to end on Friday.” 
The Xinhua description of what is in the law is not [...]

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We commented last week on staff increases for the National Energy Bureau (NEB) and some symbolic moves it was taking to indicates some independence from its parent agency, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).  A little more detail is emerging about the structure and goals of China’s energy regulatory apparatus and the draft Energy Law. 
The [...]

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Looks like some bad boys have gone out and taken advantage of China’s subsidized energy prices: “State Council: Energy consuming industries developing too fast in China” reports Xinhua. Isn’t that always the way it is, you keep energy prices artificially low to preserve social harmony, and someone goes out and starts buying the stuff like [...]

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