Development of China’s environmental legislation

Summary, in English

Is China a superhero intent on saving the world economy or a monster focused on damaging the global environment? As a developing country with the largest population in the world, China has wrought a stunning miracle of economic development. However, this rapid economic growth, like a double-edged sword, has given rise to severe environmental problems, such as climate change, water pollution and resource exhaustion among others. Moreover, these environmental challenges will in turn lead to new political, economic and social problems. Although the Rio Conference is now 20 years old, sustainable development is still a hot topic of discussion and a crucial issue in China. Currently, the country is facing a grave ecological situation and must undertake the arduous task of addressing the environmental problems. Widespread, persistent smog has continued to afflict many parts of China in recent years, arousing public concern and underlining the need to switch from the current model of extensive development to a green, environment-friendly economy. China’s environmental legislation has evolved slowly and developed over the last few decades, marking remarkable achievements in the context of a legal framework for environmental protection. However, China still has a long way to go on the road towards achieving the goals that underlie the environmental legislation.

• Author: Tianbao Qin; Meng Zhang
• Editor: Eva Sternfeld
• Publishing year: 2017
• Language: English
• Pages: 17-30
• Publication/Series: Routledge handbook of environmental policy in China
• Links: http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781315736761
• Document type: Book chapter
• Publisher: Routledge
• Topic: Law (excluding Law and Society)
• Keywords: Legislation; Environmental law; China; Sustainable development
• Status: Published
• ISBN/ISSN/Other: ISBN: 9781138831117; ISBN: 9781315736761