The Cost-benefit Analysis Of Environmental Planning

Although environmental planning is playing more and more important roles in environmental management in China, it lacks methodology and sound practice of cost-benefit analysis (CBA) in environmental planning. The essay reviews the Chinese and international practices of CBA, expounds the theoretical foundation for CBA, puts forward how to highly apply CBA in environmental planning, and explores the key contents and methods of CBA in different arrangements. The essay applies the method of CBA into environmental planning via two cases, "The planning for environmentally harmonious development for Baotou Steel Corporation and its surrounding economy" and "The evaluation of efficacy of public funds for Beijing's pollution treatment", respectively. The investigation proves that the conducting of CBA in environmental planning can play roles in judgment, selection, prediction and direction, which is the key methodology for accomplishing environmental planning.