Protecting the Public’s Environmental Right-to-Know: Developments and Challenges in China’s Legislative System for EEID, 2007-2015

• Published in: Journal of environmental law 2017-07, Vol.29 (2), p.285-315
• Main Authors: Fang, Kun, Wei, Qiqi, Logan, Kathryn K.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Original article
• ISSN: 0952-8873; 1464-374X
• DOI: 10.1093/jel/eqx014

Over the course of the past 39 years’ reforms, China has made great strides in economic and social development. However, as a result of this rapid development, China now faces severe environmental problems that have created enormous domestic and international pressures. To confront this crisis, China’s government has enthusiastically promoted the development of an ecological civilisation and the rule of law to address the conflict between economic development and environmental protection. The enterprise environmental information disclosure (EEID) system has consequently become an important link in China’s national environmental governance. Nevertheless, the current system exhibits a range of shortcomings, and recent incidents such as the August 2015 explosion in Tianjin have brought such issues clearly into the public’s focus. This article examines the legislative development of China’s EEID system, the effectiveness of its implementation and the causes of key legislative problems. It argues that a robust system for implementing EEID and bottom-up environmental enforcement mechanisms will help curb China’s environmental degradation.