Haze Pollution Prevention And Control Legal Issues

As for the frequent occurrence of fog and haze, the special weather conditions are the external causation, while the serious air pollution is the internal causation. In China, the legislative level of the prevention and control of haze is comparatively low; there is lack of research on haze formation mechanism; the regional contribution is unclear; the responsibility of legal subjects is unknown; the supervision and law enforcement of environmental protection is weak; the public’s participation is not sufficient. All the above disadvantages lead to that fog and haze more frequently invades and attacks nearly 1.3 million square kilometers territory of China. Throughout the world, in the process of development, many developed countries suffered serious pollution incidents and then they adopted various controlling measures, such as enacting laws on air pollution control, adopting the market-based mechanisms of incentives for innovation, designing strict legal accountability mechanisms, charging exorbitant fines and optimizing urban planning to gradually improve the air quality. We must bypass the weird phenomenon of promoting legislation by severe pollution incidents and remediate it from the origin as soon as possible.In Chapter 1, it mainly introduces the concept and causation of haze, figures out the formation mechanism, finds out the main source of pollutants, and discusses theoretical basis of the need for legal intervention when controlling the haze. In Chapter 2, it describes the current situation of the legislations and policies of haze control, analyzes that the major legal issues under the current system in China are as follows: lack of the research and scientific support on the caution of haze; unclear contribution of Municipalities and Provinces in contaminated region; unclear allocation mechanism of legal obligation subjects in haze pollution prevention, weak supervision and law enforcement of environmental protection and lack of the public’s participation. In Chapter 3, it describes the successful experiences in terms of legislation, regulatory mechanisms, the legal systems and legal liability of some developed countries, such as the United Kingdom, the United States and Japan. Through the comparative studies, we could make selective reference combined with our national conditions. In Chapter 4, based on the existing practical problems, it makes the following suggestions: the first is to improve the legislative system, reverse the legislative guidelines, revise "Atmospheric Pollution Prevention Act," enact "Regional Air Pollution Joint Prevention and Control Regulations", and set up Regional Joint Committee. The second is to define such principles like the public’s participation and common responsibilities and obligations; set up the public’s participation and joint prevention and control systems, and improve the economic incentive and regional monitoring mechanisms. Last but not least, we should make specific rules in acceptance of regional responsibilities, corporate responsibilities, and the responsibilities of law enforcement agencies.