China Environmental Law

I’m back.
Let’s take a look at the environmental provisions in the draft of China’s Tort Liability Law released for comment by the Nat’l People’s Cong. on November 6.
What don’t they do? First, they don’t create any new environmental torts.  Every major, media-specific environmental law already establishes liability on the part of pollutant dischargers, for damages [...]

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I just want to report that I am alive and well, and will be back shortly with more regular updates.  There is certainly a lot to talk about.  The trip to Washington provided lots of fodder.  Best quote from an unnamed Senator: “Why it’s the trees that produce most of the CO2, isn’t it?” Frightening.
Here [...]

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I am going to be completely submerged for the next several weeks. Consequently, the posting frequency will take a noticeable dip and the general inattention to all things blog related will increase. This is unfortunate timing given the nice plug from Brad Plumer. Plumer, who calls this resource indispensible, is author of the truly indispensable blog, The [...]

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An otherwise good article in the NYT yesterday about the environmental effects of solid waste incineration in China may have left readers with a misimpression.
Critics and admirers of incinerators alike call for more recycling and reduced use of packaging as ways to reduce the daily volume of municipal garbage. Even when not recycled, sorted trash [...]

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There have been two “firsts” recently reported in the  China environmental litigation arena.  It is easy to get the two cases confused because the plaintiff in both is the All-China Environmental Federation (ACEF).
The ACEF is listed on the Ministry of Environmental Protection’s website as an “affiliated social organization” It was established on April 22, 2005 and [...]

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You may have noticed that my posting has been spotty this week.  A well-intentioned friend of the blog hearing of my predicament ghosted a post to fill the void. I’m assured it’s brilliant.  Here it is:
No time today, but I want to ask my readers to consider interesting implications of two articles appearing in popular [...]

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I’ve been meaning to do a post on the labor and environmental records of China’s “green” poster companies, but haven’t had the time to devote to it yet.  My supposition is that many of those companies in the vanguard of China’s green revolution are no better than the average Guangdong toy manufacture when it comes [...]

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We are heading off tonight on the hard sleeper to Jiujiang.  The SJTU law school faculty is taking a trip to Lushan, and we don’t get back to Shanghai until Thursday.  I’ll try to send an occasional message via Twitter (through my Blackberry), but won’t be able to read any replies or any comments that [...]

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Nearly a month ago, even the normally unflappable chief of the UN’s climate change efforts, Yvo de Boer, seemed at wit’s end.  He said a global climate pact at Copenhagen was “physically impossible.”  If I had to bet now, I’d wager he’s right.
There are five months to go.  The US is trying to lead by [...]

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Littering is endemic in China.  We made the mistake of visiting the Great Wall during the height of Spring Festival: it goes without saying the top of the wall was a sea of people, but a glance over the side revealed a sea of debris and steady barrage of plastic bottles, [...]

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