Hasil untuk "Environmental law"

Zhenming Fang, Xiaoran Kong, A. Şensoy et al.

Abstract Based on the impact of the new environmental protection law promulgated by the Chinese government in 2015, we employ the difference-in-differences (DID) approach to investigate the impact of government environmental regulation on corporate green innovation. The evidence shows that government environmental regulation can significantly increase the number of green patents of heavily polluting industries. This result holds after a series of robustness tests. The analysis of the economic mechanism indicates that the new environmental protection law brings supervision pressure to heavily polluting firms, prompting them to improve the quality of information disclosure, thus improving green innovation. In addition, the regional economic development level, government subsidies, and public supervision can significantly affect the positive impact of the new environmental protection law. Meanwhile, the effect is more prominent in non-state-owned enterprises and in firms with small scale, low profitability, and weak internal governance.

Jing Lu, Jun Wang

This paper investigates the impact of corporate governance and culture background on firms’ environmental performance and CSR disclosure from a global perspective. It provides evidence of a positive relationship between environmental performance and CSR disclosure, supporting the voluntary disclosure theory. We find that common internal corporate governance best practices (such as CEO non-duality, ESG committees and gender diversified boards) are associated with better environmental performance and more disclosure of CSR related information. Debt is an effective internal governance vehicle and positively affects firms’ environmental performance and CSR disclosure. Cross-listed firms perform better environmentally and disclose more CSR information. Firms residing in countries with stronger legal systems have less voluntary CSR disclosure, implying that external governance is functional and may partially serve as a substitute for internal governance. In terms of culture influence, we find that firms in countries with low power distance, individualism, femininity, high uncertainty avoidance, and long-term orientation perform better environmentally. Firms in low power distance, collectivistic, feminine, long-term oriented, high uncertainty avoidance and restrained countries disclose more CSR information.

Wugan Cai, Peiyun Ye

Abstract With the growing tightening constraints of ecological environment, managing the relationship between environmental protection and economic growth has become a vital issue. This study considered China’s new environmental protection law (NEPL) as a quasi-natural experiment to evaluate the impact of environmental regulations on enterprises’ total factor productivity (TFP) in a difference in differences (DID) framework and further analyzed the internal impact mechanisms. The heterogenous impacts of enterprises with different characteristics at enterprise, industrial, and regional levels are investigated. The results revealed that the NEPL significantly hinders enterprises’ TFP and the effects persist for two years. Further, the inhibition on enterprises’ TFP mainly results from tightening financial constraints and negative impacts on technical innovation and resource allocation efficiency. When considering the heterogeneity at enterprise, industrial, and regional levels, state-owned and export enterprises and enterprises with longer establishment times and better cash flow situations are less affected by the implementation of the NEPL. Furthermore, high market competitiveness and government efficiency are conducive to easing the NEPL’s negative impacts. The results demonstrate that the “win-win” goal between environmental protection and economic growth has not been achieved under the unified standards and severe sanctions. Therefore, it is vital to accelerate market-oriented reform of China’s environmental regulations. This study is a reexamination of Porter Hypothesis and fills the gap in the existing literature on the NEPL’s micro influence framework on enterprises’ TFP.

H. Yu, Luqi Liao, Shiyu Qu et al.

Alina Kudinova, Oleksandra Maslii, Valerii Smokvina et al.

The primary objective of this study is to identify the various cyber threats that impact the operations of financial institutions, particularly their information and economic security. This is crucial for the sustainable growth of the country and has a direct effect on its economic security. The financial sector globally experiences the highest losses due to cyber incidents. On average, financial organizations around the world incur losses of approximately USD 5.9 million per incident, which is higher than the average loss across all industries, estimated at USD 4.45 million. Financial institutions incur losses not only from ransom payments to prevent the disclosure of stolen data and the costs associated with restoring infrastructure after ransomware attacks, but also from direct financial losses in certain situations. This study identified the most common types of cyberattacks, examined their impact on the operations of financial institutions, and suggested ways to respond to and prevent such incidents. For the first time, an algorithm for the strategic management of digitalization in financial institutions was proposed, aimed at enhancing their economic and informational security. The algorithm can be implemented at all managerial levels to reduce the influence of subjective risk factors. Additionally, a multifactor predictive model has been developed and substantiated, which represents a further development of existing approaches to assessing information and economic security in financial institutions. This model integrates internal (organization-controlled) and external (environmental) factors and utilizes statistical methods and machine learning techniques to analyze data and forecast security levels. As digitalization continues to evolve in our country, financial institutions must adapt and embrace innovation to ensure sustainable development, even under martial law.

Riski Ananda Kusuma Putu, Sari Adnyani Ni Ketut, Gede Herman Yudiawan I Dewa et al.

Law Number 15 of 2023 concerning the Province of Bali establishes a robust legal framework for the regional government to protect cultural heritage, local traditions, and environmental balance. However, the implementation of this law faces challenges in managing the influx of incoming residents, which may create pressure on local resources, both socially, culturally, and ecologically. This study aims to analyze the role of the regional government in formulating and implementing migration control policies as a concrete implementation of the law. The research employs a normative legal method with statutory and conceptual approaches. The findings indicate that the authority granted to the regional government enables the formulation of policies rooted in local values, particularly through the role of customary villages. However, such policies must remain consistent with constitutional principles, especially the guarantee of citizens’ rights to move and reside. The study recommends strengthening collaboration between customary villages and local authorities, ensuring legal and financial support from the central government, and enhancing the involvement of communities and academics in order to establish a comprehensive, equitable, and sustainable legal framework. Therefore, harmonization between regional policies and national regulations is crucial to ensure that migration restrictions are not discriminatory but instead serve to maintain balance in a fair and proportional manner.

Ethan Chervonski, Ethan Chervonski, Marisa A. Guerrero et al.

Anthropogenic climate change, while once regarded primarily as an environmental concern, has evolved into a global health crisis. As a victim of escalating climate-related phenomena, New York City (NYC) has positioned itself at the forefront of climate resilience and public health action. Local Law 97 (LL97) is the latest in NYC’s long trajectory of climate action initiatives, setting progressively stringent caps on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from large buildings greater than 25,000 square feet. LL97 represents one of the most ambitious—and divisive—climate action policies in the United States and if successful, is poised to make NYC carbon neutral by 2050. At the same time, the potential public health benefits of LL97 are broad, including improved local air quality, decreased cost barriers to residential cooling, and if in principle applied to city buildings worldwide, reduced global GHG emissions capable of stabilizing global warming for posterity. Nevertheless, LL97’s reliance on a carbon-intensive electricity grid, creation of complex financial incentives, and divisive reception by political groups threaten its impact. The following paper reviews the public health consequences of building emissions through the lens of NYC’s built environment. It explores the role of LL97 and other relevant local and state legislation in mitigating the public health impacts of building emissions. Finally, the law’s limitations are critically assessed. By analyzing LL97’s potential successes and obstacles, this paper aims to provide actionable insights for other cities seeking to design effective climate action plans that balance sustainability, public health, and equity.

M K Ramesh

Bingnan Guo, Y. Wang, Yu Feng et al.

Air pollution significantly impacts sustainable development and public health. Taking the implementation of China's Environmental Protection Tax Law in China as a quasi-natural experiment, this paper employs the difference-in-differences (DID) and spatial DID models to evaluate the effects of environmental tax reform on urban air pollution. The findings are as follows. (1) Environmental tax reform can significantly reduce urban air pollution, and a series of robustness tests have also been conducted to provide further evidence. (2) Green technology innovation and industrial structure upgrading from a vital transmission mechanism for environmental tax reform to improve air quality. (3) Environmental tax reform significantly inhibits urban air pollution in cities located north of the Qinling-Huaihe line and big cities. (4) Moreover, environmental tax reform not only promotes the improvement of local air quality but also has a significant negative spatial spillover effect, reducing air pollution in neighboring cities. The research conclusions provide theoretical support and policy suggestions for promoting sustainable economic development, rationally optimizing environmental protection tax policies and improving urban air quality.

Xing Liu, Fengzhong Liu

Di Zhou, Yuan Qiu, Mingzhen Wang

Ken O. Buesseler, Daniele Bianchi, Fei Chai et al.

There are many potential approaches to marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR), of which ocean iron fertilization (OIF) has the longest history of study. However, OIF studies to date were not primarily designed to quantify the durability of carbon (C) storage, nor how wise OIF might be as an mCDR approach. To quantify C sequestration, we introduce a metric called the “centennial tonne,” defined as 1,000 kg of C isolated from atmospheric contact for on average at least 100 years. We present the activities needed to assess OIF from a scientific and technological perspective, and additionally, how it might be responsibly studied and potentially deployed. The five activities include: field studies in the Northeast Pacific; improved modeling for field studies, data assimilation and predictions at larger scales; improvements in monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) for C, and also MRV for tracking ecological and environmental impacts; and developing new iron sources and their delivery, to increase efficiencies and reduce costs. The fifth activity is to understand whether public and community support exists for OIF, and what governance structures might support further research and possible deployment of OIF. This article is written by a multidisciplinary experts group called Exploring Ocean Iron Solutions (ExOIS) that is organized around a responsible code of conduct. Of the mCDR approaches, OIF has the potential to be low cost, scalable, and rapidly deployable. Reducing CO2 emissions must lead the way, but there is also an urgency to decide under what conditions and whether OIF might be deployed or not.

Xi Yang, Wanyanhan Jiang, Xi Gao et al.

Abstract Background Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other forms of dementia are the seventh leading cause of death. Studies discern the inclusion of air pollution among modifiable risk factors for dementia, while limited studies are for China. This study aims to examine the short-term association between airborne particulate matter (PM) and the hospitalizations of AD, including the economic costs in China. Methods A total of 4975 cases of AD patients hospitalized from 2017 to 2019, were collected from nine city and 411 medical institutions in Sichuan Province, China. Data on air pollutants such as PM2.5, PM10, and NO2 were obtained from 183 air quality monitoring stations in Sichuan Province. A time series-generalized additive model was used to estimate the association between short-term exposure to PM (lag1–lag7 and moving average lag01–lag07) and AD hospital admissions (HAs), stratified by gender, age, and season. Results Positive short-term exposure to airborne PM was found for the HAs of AD. The greatest effect on the number of AD inpatients was on single-day lag1 (PM2.5:1.034 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.011, 1.058)). The association was also significant in the two-pollutant model. In the study period, 16.48% of AD HAs were attributed to the effect of PM. The total economic costs of AD attributable to PM exposure were US$ 2.56 million, including US$ 2.25 million of direct medical costs and US$ 0.31 million of indirect economic costs. Conclusions This study suggests that short-term exposure to airborne PM may increase the risk of AD HAs in Sichuan Province and result in associated economic costs.

Arkadiusz Piwowar

Abstract Background Thermal upgrading is an important element in the economic transformation of Poland towards a low-emission economy. This paper presents the results of research into the current status and plans of inhabitants of rural areas in Poland with regard to thermal upgrading of residential buildings and other buildings used in the agricultural activity of the study participants. The main purpose of the article is to identify thermal modernization needs and to analyse factors influencing individual thermal modernization plans in terms of replacement or modernization of heating systems. A key element of the analyses was the issue of upgrading priorities and the dependency between declared intentions in terms of thermal upgrading work and the production and economic features of the farms studied. Results The main research material were surveys conducted with a randomly selected sample of 480 farming households in Poland. The analyses used, amongst others, multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) to determine and assess the relationships between the variables studied. Detailed correspondence analysis shows that there are strong dependencies between plans for thermal upgrading of farm buildings and the system of agricultural production (φ 2 = 0.1503), the economic size of farms (φ 2 = 0.1100), and the location of farms (φ 2 = 0.0947). Conclusions The research showed that there is a need for thermal upgrading in the examined area of study, especially with regard to the replacement or modernisation of heating systems. The issue of thermal upgrading of residential and farm buildings in rural areas in Poland requires support and engagement at all levels of administration, as well as the modernisation of assistance programmes.

Chunling Yu, T. Morotomi

An unescapable fact is that air pollution has been a problem affecting residents' health and daily life. The Chinese government has been adopting measures to improve air quality for decades. The revise of Environmental Protection Law (the New Law hereafter) enforced in 2015 is one of them. The New Law encourages participations of multiple actors in environmental protection and aggressive punishments violations, playing the central role in the Chinese environmental law system. In order to understand its impacts, we employ the panel data analysis controlling city and month fixed terms to evaluate the effects of the New Law on air quality in 70 cities in China. Furthermore, we combine difference-in-differences (DID) to investigate the time variance of the effect. We find that the implementation of the New Law correlates with reduction of PM2.5, SO2 concentrations and Air Quality Comprehensive Index (AQCI). The effect is non-linear, reducing over time, especially on NO2 concentration and AQCI. In our model, one document reduces NO2 concentration and AQCI by 1.99 μg/m3 and 0.26 points, and the effects decay by 0.93 μg/m3 and 0.16 every year separately. The results indicate the effectiveness of the New Law, while at the same time, China experiences symbolic implementations from local authorizations resulted from environmental decentralization, ambiguous policy statements and interest conflicts.

U. Pagallo, Jacopo Ciani Sciolla, M. Durante

Purpose The paper aims to examine the environmental challenges of artificial intelligence (AI) in EU law that regard both illicit uses of the technology, i.e. overuse or misuse of AI and its possible underuses. The aim of the paper is to show how such regulatory efforts of legislators should be understood as a critical component of the Green Deal of the EU institutions, that is, to save our planet from impoverishment, plunder and destruction. Design/methodology/approach To illustrate the different ways in which AI can represent a game-changer for our environmental challenges, attention is drawn to a multidisciplinary approach, which includes the analysis of the initiatives on the European Green Deal; the proposals for a new legal framework on data governance and AI; principles of environmental and constitutional law; the interaction of such principles and provisions of environmental and constitutional law with AI regulations; other sources of EU law and of its Member States. Findings Most recent initiatives on AI, including the AI Act (AIA) of the European Commission, have insisted on a human-centric approach, whereas it seems obvious that the challenges of environmental law, including those triggered by AI, should be addressed in accordance with an ontocentric, rather than anthropocentric stance. The paper provides four recommendations for the legal consequences of this short-sighted view, including the lack of environmental concerns in the AIA. Research limitations/implications The environmental challenges of AI suggest complementing current regulatory efforts of EU lawmakers with a new generation of eco-impact assessments; duties of care and disclosure of non-financial information; clearer parameters for the implementation of the integration principle in EU constitutional law; special policies for the risk of underusing AI for environmental purposes. Further research should examine these policies in connection with the principle of sustainability and the EU plan for a circular economy, as another crucial ingredient of the Green Deal. Practical implications The paper provides a set of concrete measures to properly tackle both illicit uses of AI and the risk of its possible underuse for environmental purposes. Such measures do not only concern the “top down” efforts of legislators but also litigation and the role of courts. Current trends of climate change litigation and the transplant of class actions into several civil law jurisdictions shed new light on the ways in which we should address the environmental challenges of AI, even before a court. Social implications A more robust protection of people’s right to a high level of environmental protection and the improvement of the quality of the environment follows as a result of the analysis on the legal threats and opportunities brought forth by AI. Originality/value The paper explores a set of issues, often overlooked by scholars and institutions, that is nonetheless crucial for any Green Deal, such as the distinction between the human-centric approach of current proposals in the field of technological regulation and the traditional ontocentric stance of environmental law. The analysis considers for the first time the legal issues that follow this distinction in the field of AI regulation and how we should address them.

S. Akerboom, R. Craig

Despite some skepticism regarding its effectiveness, public participation has become a central facet of environmental decision making, including governments' various decisions to address climate change. However, the existing literature tends to address the general benefits of environmental public participation rather than examine details of how such participation actually occurs and how it differs among nations — even among nations all purportedly pursuing similar public participation goals. This article begins to fill that knowledge gap by examining law's key role in structuring how the public in different countries may actually participate in environmental decision making, including in unfolding national agendas to reduce green-house gas emissions and adapt to climate change impacts. Both the United States and European Union member states have decades of experience in writing — and rewriting — public participation into their environmental laws. This article actively explores and compares how the laws of the United States, the European Union, and the Netherlands (as an exemplar of an EU member state) structure public participation in environmental decision making in order to assess how far along the scale of public participation categories each government has progressed. It concludes that, for the moment, United States environmental law more often allows for public collaboration and empowers the public to make certain kinds of environmental decisions — although a new law in the Netherlands may soon encourage more creative and collaborative forms of public participation there, as well.

Ghallam Aziza, Bouasria Leila, Zirar Hayat

For the first time, the Moroccan legislator officially regulated the use of medically procreative techniques in 2019, allowing couples affected by infertility to conceive outside the ordinary biological process. Aspiring relatives are betting on Law 47-14 on medically assisted procreation (ART) to facilitate access to infertility care. This article aims to demonstrate the contributions and limitations of this law and to understand its impact on the lives of infertile couples. In addition, this work highlights the position of the various parties involved in the implementation of this legislation after a controversial debate. Methodologically, we opted for a qualitative method based on reading parliamentary archives, writings, and audiovisual media, coupled with semi-structured interviews with the various stakeholders in the field of GPA. 91.7% of participants, infertile couples and practitioners of medically assisted procreation place the lack of financial reimbursement of ART acts at the top of their concern. Similarly, health professionals criticize the disciplinary sanctions stipulated in the law. Despite the strengths of this legal framework, it has not provided a solution to fight against socio-economic and gender inequalities related to access to GPA in Morocco.

Duquesne Sabine, Brendel Stephan, Hönemann Linda et al.

Abstract Background The aim of environmental risk assessment (ERA) for pesticides is to protect ecosystems by ensuring that specific protection goals (SPGs) are met. The ERA follows a prospective tiered approach, starting with the most conservative and simple step in risk assessment (RA) (so-called tier 1) using the lowest available appropriate endpoint derived from ecotoxicological tests. In 2015, for the tier 1 RA of aquatic primary producers, the recommendation was changed from using the lowest of the 50% inhibition (EC50) values based on biomass (area under the curve—EbC50), increase in biomass (yield- EyC50) or growth rate (ErC50) to only using the growth rate inhibition endpoint (ErC50) because it is independent of the test design and thus more robust. This study examines the implications of this such on the level of conservatism provided by the tier 1 RA and evaluates whether it ensures a suitable minimum protection level. Results Our analysis shows that replacing the lowest endpoint with the growth rate inhibition endpoint while maintaining the assessment factor (AF) of 10 significantly reduces the conservatism in the tier 1 RA. Comparing protection levels achieved with different endpoints reveals that the current assessment is less protective. To maintain the previous level of protection, and since the protection goals have not changed, we recommend to multiply the default AF of 10 by an extra factor of minimum 2.4 in the tier 1 RA based on ErC50. Independently of the endpoint selected in tier 1 RA, several issues in the general RA of pesticides contribute to uncertainties when assessing the protection levels, e.g., lack of appropriate comparison of the higher tier experimental studies (i.e., best achievable approximation of field situation, so-called surrogate reference tier) with field conditions or the regulatory framework's failure to consider realistic conditions in agricultural landscapes with multiple stressors and pesticide mixtures. Conclusions We advise to consider adjusting the risk assessment in order to reach at least the previous protection level for aquatic primary producers. Indeed continuing using an endpoint with a higher value and without adjustment of the assessment factor is likely to jeopardize the need of halting biodiversity loss in surface waters.

Mohamed El Asawy, Eman Badawy Ahmed

تسعى الدولة الي حوکمة العمران في مصر وذلک من خلال إصدار العديد من القوانين والتشريعات التخطيطية لرفع کفاءة التجمعات العمرانية، وتعتبر التعديلات المقترح تنفيذها على بنود قانون البناء الموحد من أهم التشريعات القانونية محل الدراسة في وقتنا الحالي. تتناول الدراسة تحليل وتقييم الأثر البيئي جراء تطبيق التعديلات المقترحة على متوسط الطاقة المستهلکة بالوحدات السکنية سواء بالسلب أو الإيجاب، مع ذکر خاص لمدى توافق تلک التعديلات مع التوصيات المقترحة بأکواد البناء المصري المعنية بالنواحي البيئية للمباني السکنية، بالاضافة الي بعض التعديلات المقترحة والتي يوصي البحث بضرورة ضمها الي قانون البناء الموحد. منهجية البحث: يتبع البحث المنهج الاستقرائي من خلال دراسة القوانين والمعايير الحاکمة لتصميم الوحدات السکنية والتي تشمل قانون البناء الموحد رقم 119 لسنة 2008 والضوابط والاشتراطات التخطيطية والبنائية للمدن المصرية 2020, والکود المصري لتحسين کفاءة استخدام الطاقة في المباني, بالاضافة الي الکود المصري للتهوية في المباني. ثم المنهج التطبقي وذلک من خلال اقتراح النموذج السکني للدراسة التطبيقية واستخدام برامج المحاکاة البيئية (designbuilder and energy plus) لقياس تاثير المتغيرات التصميمية المقترحة (ارتفاع المبنى والمسافات البينية بين المباني المتقابلة, والبروزات الخارجية, وطبقات الغلاف الخارجي المصمت, وأبعاد ونسب الفتحات الخارجية, والمناور السکنية الداخلية) علي استهلاک الطاقة بالمبني السکني. هذا وتشير نتائج الدراسة البحثية إلى أن تعديلات قانون البناء الموحد بمنظومة الاشتراطات الجديده2020 ذات تأثير ايجابي في زيادة الوفر في الطاقة المستهلکة للوحدات السکنية عن مثيلاتها في حال تطبيق قانون البناء الموحد لمقدار التوفير في الطاقة المستهلکة بمعدل 4% للمناور السکنية وبنسبة تتراوح ما بين 14 : 17% للبروزات ومن 12 : 16% لتأثير عرض الطريق وعلاقته بارتفاع المبني. Egypt seeks to govern urbanization by issuing many planning laws to increase the efficiency of urban communities. The proposed amendments to the Building Law are considered one of the most important legal studies during these days. The research focuses on analyzing and evaluating the environmental impact of applying amendments on the average energy consumption in residential buildings, whether negatively or positively. In addition to some proposed amendments, which the research recommends be included in the amendments. Research Methodology depends on the inductive approach by studying the laws for the housing unit’s design, which include the Building Law No. 119 of 2008, the planning and building requirements for Egyptian cities 2020, the Egyptian Code for Energy in Buildings, and the Egyptian code for ventilation in buildings. The second part depends on the applied approach by proposing the residential model for the applied study and using the environmental simulation programs (design builder and energy plus) to measure the effectiveness of the proposed design variables (building height, distances between opposite buildings, external shades, components of the building's external envelope, openings and courtyard) on the energy consumption of the residential building. The results of the study indicate that the modification of the building law with the new requirements (2020) has a positive effect on the building's energy saving compared to the case of applying the building law. The modifications achieve 4% in energy savings for the courtyard, 14:17 % for the cantilevers, and 12:16 % for the relationship between road width and the building height.