Laws, Agencies and Policies for Protecting the Environment

urgent problem. To obtain a global agreement on this issue is difficult, as shown by a week-long meeting of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in Bangkok, reported in an article in San Francisco Chronicle May 7, 2007.

For China to be willing to reduce its use of coal-fired power plants that cause CO₂ emission alternative energy source must be priced not higher than the price of power generated by coal. This will be possible if there shall be sufficient technological innovations in the production of clean energy at such low prices. Market incentives for such innovations have a good chance of success, according to Friedman (2007, p.50).

Without the benefit of new technology, the world community can reduce the rate of increase of carbon emission by (1) using alternative energy to coal such as gas, nuclear, ethanol and solar, (2) reducing the consumption of electricity at homes, offices and factories, and (3) controlling the amount of CO₂ emission by reducing the burning of forests and capturing the amount of carbon from coal burning.

 Laws, Agencies and Policies for Protecting the Environment

 Laws and Agencies for environmental protection

The Chinese central government has been aware of the environmental problems and has made serious attempts to protect and improve China’s environment.  In 1979, China passed the Environmental Protection Law for Trial Implementation.  The 1982 Constitution included important environmental protection provisions.  Article 26 of the Constitution requires that “the state protects and improves the environment in which people live and the ecological environment.  It prevents and controls pollution and other public hazards.”  There are also provisions on the state’s duty to conserve natural resources and wildlife. Based on these provisions a number of special laws have been enacted.  These include the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law of 1984, the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law of 1987, the Water and Soil Conservation Law of 1991, the Solid Waste Law of 1995, the Energy Conservation Law of 1997 and several important international agreements including the Kyoto and Montreal Protocols.