北美自由贸易协定中的环境问题及其对我国的启示

在《北美自由贸易协定》(NAFTA)中,明确规定了与环境保护有关的内容。《北美环境合作协议》(NAAEC),在美、加、墨三国之间形成了一个三边环境协定、各国环境法律、公众广泛参与的立体环境保护网络系统,较好地实现了贸易自由化与环境保护的协调。充分的透明度、民众可就任何成员方未能有效执行环境法提供相关报告是其协调贸易与环境关系的成功之处。对我国的三点启示:公众参与环境保护是国家实施环境行政管理权力的有益补充;公众参与环境保护必须有法律作后盾;利益刺激是提高公众参与环境保护程度的有效手段。     

中国入世后外资审批中存在的问题及立法思考——从环保角度看外资审批

引入外资,带动了我国经济的发展。然而,由于我国外资审批立法上存在诸多问题,再加上西方发达国家目前正在实行的“污染转移”的政策,使大量不合格的外资企业进入了中国,从而引发了一系列的外资所带来的环境污染的问题。为有效解决引入外资所带来的环境污染问题,必须重新界定审批标准减少其中的自由裁量权,确立环保审批以杜绝“地方保护”,明确审批行使人的法律责任以及建立对于审批权行使的监督体系。     

浅谈绿色环境税收

随着工业化的发展,为解决全球资源短缺、环境污染严重的“环境退化度”问题,实现全球经济“可持续发展”的理论得到广泛认同。世界上不少国家开始利用税收强制手段,控制自然环境退化,实施了对自然资源、生态环境保护的“绿色环境税收”制度。本文从绿色环境税收的产生发展、概念种类、中国绿色环境税收的现状出发,提出了完善中国绿色环境税收的构想。     

公共安全视野下环境风险规制的改进

环境风险严重影响公共安全,进而破坏社会和国家的稳定与安全。理论上,基于公共安全考量的环境风险规制有明确的政策依据和可执行的法律环境;实务上,基于公共安全考量的环境风险规制由公安机关依法参与政策制定并保障其实施。当前,"重"事故应急而"轻"风险预防、"重"公安职能而"轻"开放合作、"重"实体规制而"轻"程序制约的现状,是公安机关防范和化解环境风险面临的难题。改进之策在于明确公安机关参与环境风险规制的范围和职责;完善公共安全视野下环境风险规制的制度供给;建立公安机关参与环境风险规制的专家咨询制度;加强公安机关应对环境风险能力的应急预案建设。     

论环境税收的可税性

环境税收不仅仅是一种经济活动,同时也是作为一种法律活动而存在的。文章从法学理论角度的分析旨在阐明,环境税收是否可以以及如何纳入现行法律的运作框架,作为一项具体的法律制度,促进环境保护目标和价值的实现。     

后冷战时代日本环境外交战略研究

冷战结束后,环境议题成为日本谋求"政治大国"地位的重要手段,其纳入日本对外战略框架有着深刻的国内社会背景和国际政治环境,以对外输出资本和环保技术为主要内容的日本环境外交战略在树立环保大国形象及提高国际声誉方面取得了一定成绩,但公益性的实施方式并没有改变其作为一国外交政策的利益性本质。     

Journey history reconstruction from the soils and sediments on footwear: An empirical approach

The value of environmental evidence for reconstructing journey histories has significant potential given the high transferability of sediments and the interaction of footwear with the ground. The importance of empirical evidence bases to underpin the collection, analysis, interpretation and presentation of forensic trace materials is increasingly acknowledged. This paper presents two experimental studies designed to address the transfer and persistence of sediments on the soles of footwear in forensically relevant scenarios, by means of quartz grain surface texture analysis, a technique which has been demonstrated to be able to distinguish between samples of mixed provenance.It was identified that there is a consistent trend of transfer and persistence of sediments from hypothetical pre-, syn- and post-crime event locations across the sole of the shoe, with sediments from ‘older’ locations likely to be retained in small proportions. Furthermore, the arch of the shoe (the area of lowest foot pressure distribution) typically (but not exclusively) retained the highest proportion of grain types from previous locations including the crime scene. A lack of chronological layering of the retained sediments was observed indicating that techniques that can identify the components of mixed provenance samples are important for analysing footwear sediment samples. It was also identified that the type of footwear appeared to have an influence on what particles were retained, with high relief soles that incorporate recessed areas being more likely to retain sediments transferred from ‘older’ locations from the journey history. In addition, the inners of footwear were found to retain sediments from multiple locations from the journey history that are less susceptible to differential loss in comparison to the outer sole. These findings provide important data that can form the basis for the effective collection, analysis and interpretation of sediments recovered from both the outer soles and inners of footwear, building on the findings of previously published studies. These data offer insights that enable inferences to be made about mixed source sediments that are identified on footwear in casework, and provide the beginnings of an empirical basis for assessing the significance of such sediment particles for a specific forensic reconstruction.     

Where the wild things are: animal victimization in federal environmental crime cases

Although there has been a marked increase in studies of animal abuse from a variety of socio-legal and green criminological perspectives in the past two decades, we have a limited empirical understanding of the extent of animal victimization in environmental crime prosecutions in the United States. In order to better understand the nature and distribution of animal victimization in environmental crime prosecutions, we employ a content analysis of federal environmental crime cases, 2001–2011. Out of 972 cases, results show identifiable animal victimization plays a role in six percent of cases. Although animal victimization in environmental crime may be extensive, its role in environmental prosecutions appears secondary. We conclude with possibilities of expanding animal protection via wildlife and environmental law connections.     

Drivers for adopting environmental management systems in the post-Soviet mining industry

The past decade has witnessed an active dismantling of public environmental policy in Russia. At the same time, Russian companies involved in natural resources extraction have adopted standardized environmental management systems. In this way, much of the responsibility of environmental policy in Russia has been transferred to private industries and their environmental management systems. These systems do not, as such, guarantee increased environmental responsibility. This article addresses the privatization of the Russian environmental policy in light of the legitimacy and uncertainty involved in standardized environmental management systems. A case study of the mining industry in the Kola Peninsula, Russia, is used in two ways. First, environmental policy conflicts between public bodies and mining companies in Russia are illustrated with two examples. Second, key drivers for adopting environmental management systems in the Kola Peninsula mining companies are extracted from thematic interviews. These drivers are analyzed for their impact on unit and corporate level decision-making. In addition, the drivers are categorized according to the type of legitimacy and stakeholder salience. It is shown that unit and corporate level applications of environmental management have different societal and environmental implications. On the basis of the case study it is suggested that due to their support of cognitive and moral legitimacy, and a broader view on salient stakeholders, environmental management systems defined on the unit level allow a better alignment of corporate goals with societal goals of sustainability.

日本沿海工业城市的环境再生

当前,随着全球环境危机的日益加深,环境再生已成为一个世界性的课题。战后日本沿海工业城市的兴起,促进了日本经济的高速增长,但也为此付出了沉重的环境代价。目前,这些城市实施的治理环境公害、发展以资源循环利用为中心的新兴产业、重新规划和建设城市临海部以及建设可持续交通体系等措施,就是为了通过实现城市环境再生,达到发展经济和保护环境的双重目的,使市民生活得更为健康、舒适,并保证经济社会的可持续发展。