环境许可制度:中国路径之建议

Environmental Licensing System: Suggestions for China

中国的环境许可立法虽有显著完善,但不改薄弱之现状。目前急需采取措施以帮助中国建立一项有效的环境许可制度。许可证在上世纪80年代后半期首次引入中国,但是在接下来的近三十年中,其主要充当排放报告制度的补充措施,而非一项污染治理政策。2014年至2015年间,中国两部环境保护和污染防治的基础法律被修订,尤其是在法律责任和公众参与方面进步明显。尽管如此,这两项法规并没有保障中国环境许可制度的有效实施。通过分析中国现行环境许可的法律和政策工具的优缺点,以及考查欧盟和美国许可制度的基本特征,本文旨在确定中国决策者为建立有效环境许可制度整体框架所应采取的重要措施。因此,在本文中,笔者认为应该制定并实施一个适应中国现状及需求的特别许可框架,并且可以从三个关键措施出发:整合现有政策工具出台专门法规;明确各级政府职责;加强企业责任追究。如果被适用,这些措施可能会大大有助于弥补中国环境许可立法的主要缺陷,从而为中国综合推行环境许可制度提供一个更加精简且兼具效率的框架。

Although China's environmental licensing legislation has been significantly improved, it does not change the weak status quo. Measures are urgently needed to help China establish an effective environmental permit system. Licensing system was introduced into China for the first time in the second half of 1980 s, but in the next thirty years, it acted as a supplementary measure to the emission reporting system rather than a pollution control policy. From 2014 to 2015, the basic laws of environmental protection and pollution control in China were revised, especially in the areas of legal responsibility and public participation. Nevertheless, these two regulations do not guarantee the effective implementation of China's environmental licensing system. Through the analysis of advantages and disadvantages of the existing environmental laws and Chinese licensing policy tools, and the basic characteristics of the licensing system of European Union and the United States, this paper aims to identify the important measures for Chinese policymakers to establish an effective framework of environmental permit system. The author thinks that we should develop and implement a framework to adapt to the special permission of China status and needs, and start from the three key measures: issuing special regulations by integrating of existing policy instruments; clearing responsibilities at all levels of government; strengthening corporate responsibility. If applicable, these measures may greatly help to make up for the major shortcomings of China's environmental licensing legislation, thus providing a more streamlined and efficient framework for China to comprehensively implement the environmental licensing system.