Legal Weapons in China’s War on Pollution

Environment China

In 2016, eight companies that had dumped untreated waste in the Tengger Desert were sued by NGOs. China’s Supreme People’s Court ruled that a lower court in Ningxia was liable to accept the case, and the decision eventually resulted in an environmental restoration bill worth about 91 million USD. Cases like this illustrate how courts are becoming a key battlefield in China’s so-called 'war on pollution' — but when and how did this shift take place? And beyond courtrooms, what other legal and policy tools has China recently added to its pollution-fighting arsenal? We sit down with Dimitri de Boer, environmental cooperation expert and head of European NGO ClientEarth’s China Programme, to discuss recent advancements in China’s environmental laws and how these laws are being applied in practice. Dimitri shares his insights on China’s vast network of environmental courts, the importance of 2015 amendments to China’s Environmental Protection Law, and ClientEarth’s work to train judges who are handling environmental-related matters. You can learn more about ClientEarth’s work in China here: https://www.clientearth.org/china/.