National Environmental Policy Act of the United States and Its Application in Climate Litigation——Evaluating Litigation Case by Friends of the Earth on Export-Import Bank of the United States and Overseas Private Investment Corporation

Because that American government and congress hold a negative attitude on responding to climate change issue, people transfer the battle stage of climate change to the court,and hope to promote government and large energy companies actively responding to climate change issue via litigation form. A large amount of related litigation appears,and a kind of special litigation type is gradually formed, namely climate change litigation. National Environmental Policy Act of the United States is one of important legal weapons used by prosecutor in climate change litigation. In National Environmental Policy Act, it stipulates environmental impact evaluation system which has close relationship with climate change litigation. The system requires that federal agency ＂ should compile detailed environmental impact report （EIS） on major federal action which significantly affects human survival environment quality＂. Litigation case of Export - Import Bank of the United States and Overseas Private Investment Corporation by Fdends of the Earth, Green Peace, Boulder City, etc. is typical one related to the act. We try to evaluate and analyze text and case of the act.

Analysis of the current situation of environmental policy of China and establishment of distributed environmental policy framework

In this study, China＇s current macro-environ- mental policies as well as their implementation and management tools are analyzed. By using the basic economic methodology, detailed studies are conducted focusing on the implementation effect of contemporary China＇s typical environmental policy of the total pollutant discharge quantity control type, and also the two types of environmental management tools are compared from the perspective of implementation costs and policy uncertainty. By introduction of distributed management tools into the implementation of environmental policies, marketoriented means and the methods of economic analysis are introduced into environmental policy decision-making mechanisms, which could afford a new method for changing the current relatively low efficiency of environ- mental policy, solving the problem of＂government failure＂ in environmental policy implementation, and providing a new way to make environmental policy system more flexible and more efficient. It is of great practical significance to solve China＇s current structural, complex and accumulative environmental problems.

Analysis of Green Technology Upgrading Strategy Based on Collaborative Incentive of Environmental Policy and Green Finance

With the continuous development of economy, the bottleneck problem of environmental resources has become increasingly prominent. Enterprise environmental governance technology innovation incentive has become an important issue for the development of government, society and enterprises. Under the control of enterprise's expected economic target, this paper discusses the synergistic incentive effect of environmental policy and green finance on enterprise's environmental governance technology innovation decision by using nonlinear programming model. The results show that when the funds for environmental governance technological innovation are insufficient, there is an optimal decision space to use green financial loans to implement technological innovation and upgrade, and then achieve the expected economic goals;Under a given level of environmental governance technology, environmental policies affect whether enterprises can make decisions on technological innovation and upgrading of environmental governance;Green financial mechanism will not. However, when the enterprise makes the decision of environmental governance technology upgrading, it will affect the enterprise's decision on green financial loan amount. The results of the study have guiding significance for the formulation of environmental policy and green financial policy, as well as the decision-making of enterprise environmental governance technology innovation and upgrading.

Review,assessment and recommendations on environmental policies in Western China

Reviewing the existing environmental policies in Western China,we find that:in time sequence,the characteristics of China's western environmental policies shift from"development drive governance"to the full implementation of environmental protection and construction;and in spatial sequence,the ecological,social,and economic development of Western China reach to coordination through the nature reserve setting,ecological migrants,fiscal transfer payment and differentiated ecological environmental policies.Due to the implementation of the policies and projects,environmental degradation trends in the western ecological environment were alleviated significantly,the living conditions of farmers and herdsmen were improved,and many successful experiences were explored.However,future ecological environmental construction in Western China requires further improvement in integrated planning,eco-compensation mechanism,and policy assessment.This paper concludes with specific recommendations such as drawing up ecological environment construction planning,strengthening environmental law enforcement and incentive mechanisms,improving policy assessment and scientific support,enhancing environmental protection capacity,improving eco-compensation mechanism,and refining the environmental policies for key areas.

Impacts of forest plantation programs on sectoral CO_(2) emissions regionally in New Zealand

Investing in projects that support environmental benefits,such as tree harvesting,has the potential to reduce air pollution levels in the atmosphere in the future.However,this kind of investment may increase the current level of emissions.Therefore,it is necessary to estimate how much the policy affects the current level of CO_(2) emissions.This makes sure the policy doesn’t increase the level of CO_(2) emis-sions.This study aims to analyze the effect of the One Bil-lion Trees program on CO_(2) emissions in New Zealand by employing the 2020 input–output table analysis.This inves-tigation examines the direct and indirect effects of policy on both the demand and supply sides across six regions of New Zealand.The results of this study for the first year of plantation suggest that the policy increases the level of CO_(2) emissions in all regions,especially in the Waikato region.The direct and indirect impact of the policy leads to 64 kt of CO_(2) emissions on the demand side and 270 kt of CO_(2) emis-sions on the supply side.These lead to 0.19 and 0.74%of total CO_(2) emissions being attributed to investment shocks.Continuing the policy is recommended,as it has a low effect on CO_(2) emissions.However,it is crucial to prioritize the use of low-carbon machinery that uses fossil fuels during the plantation process.

State Policy on the Environment in Vietnamese Handicraft Villages

Handicraft villages play an important role in promoting social and economic development in rural areas as well as Vietnam＇s economy. Nowadays, Vietnam＇s handicrafts have a foothold in the world market, and are exported over 163 countries and territories （Tuan, 2010）. However, the production activities of the handicraft village have a lot of shortcomings, especially the problem of environmental pollution （Chi, 2010）. Therefore, government policy plays a very important role to minimize environmental pollution villages, contributing to improving environmental quality and public health. This paper focuses on： 1）. Current status of state policy environment in handicraft villages shows the achievements and limitations of the policy, from which reviews state policy in environments in handicraft villages （through fieldwork in the handicraft villages）; and 2）. Solution to improve state policy on environmental protection in handicraft villages in Vietnam.

Extreme rain event highlights the lack of governance to face climate change in the Southeastern coast of Brazil

New rainfall records were registered in the southeastern region of Brazil during February 2023.The amount of rain in the north coast region of the State of São Paulo was more than 650 mm in less than two days.Landslides and tragedies with a socioeconomically vulnerable population marked this climatic extreme.The country has a regulatory system that suggests the elaboration and implementation of municipal public policies aimed at territorial organization,environmental conservation,and the prevention of disasters induced by natural hazards.In addition,both federal and state funds earmarked for such hazard's prevention have been underutilized over the last decade.In addition to this current devastating climate episode,other events were registered in this decade,reinforcing that financial governance is a key challenge to face the climate crisis in Brazil.The predicted future extreme events in different regions of Brazil will require a different governance system to minimize social inequality,seek sustainable alternatives for urban environments and manage to adapt cities for the challenges posed by climate change.

Does environmental policy stringency alter the natural resourcesemissions nexus?Evidence from G-7 countries

Natural resource management is indispensable keeping in view their positive economic impacts as well as their detrimental environmental consequences.To achieve certain SDGs,it is inevitable to manage natural resources through effective policies that help to inhibit adverse environmental impacts.Based on this approach,the current empirical analysis aims to probe whether environmental policy stringency intensifies,meagres,and/or halts the abysmal environmental impact of natural resources in G-7 countries(United Kingdom,United States,Canada,Italy,France,Japan,and Germany)for the period from 1990 to 2020.To that end,we rely on the second-generation panel data approaches and panel quantile regression.The outcomes reveal that natural resources increase carbon dioxide emission whereas the synergy of natural resources and environmental policy stringency plunges emissions across the quantiles.These findings suggest adoption of a strict environmental policy for attaining the targets of SGD-08(economic growth),SDG-09(innovations),SDG-11(sustainable cities),SDG-12(responsible consumption of natural resources),and SDG-13(climate action).

Analysis of the relationship between environmental policies and air quality during major social events

Based on an analysis of major recent social events in China,such as the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games,2010 Shanghai World Expo,2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games,and 2014 Beijing Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference,mandatory,temporary,and indemnificatory quantitative policies aimed at protecting air quality,which were carried out by both central and local governments,made substantial contributions to changes and improvements in air quality.To some extent,the findings show that command and control measures play a significant role in protecting air quality,while the law and economic and voluntary environmental safeguard measures do not during major social events.Therefore,it reminds us the air quality could and will improve not only during major social events but also in the regular days if we implement appropriate environmental policies and safeguard measures.

A Mechanism for Digital Finance to Drive Green and Low-Carbon Development

Given the global focus on green and low-carbon development and the increasing prominence of digital finance,it is particularly important to explore how to leverage digital finance to achieve these environmental goals.This study,through mechanism analysis,deeply examines how China’s digital finance promotes green and low-carbon development and elucidates the positive interaction between digital finance and the green industry.The study found that digital finance,through more flexible and efficient financial functions,alters the cost structure of carbon emissions,and reduces the risks and costs of green investments,thereby creating a cooperative green mechanism benefiting all parties,and guiding social groups toward a green and low-carbon transformation.Additionally,the rapid development of digital finance has strengthened the implementation of environmental protection policies,effectively promoted the expansion of the environmental protection industry,and established the green ethos as a mainstream concept in financial development.This study aims to provide reference perspectives and suggestions,assist policymakers in promoting the green and lowcarbon development of digital finance,and offer insights into the integrated development of digital finance and the green environmental protection industry.

Deliberative Democracy Establishment in Environmental Policies： alternatives for the Environmental Conflict Resolution

The environmental problems can not be addressed in all their depth and complexity, and the most viable solutions can be made only by direct and continuous reference to the large issues of the development of the society as a whole. Environment and economic development are indissoluble, the first is where we all live, and development is what we all do to improve our fate in this environment. A main cause is the attitude of economic operators towards the environment, an attitude according to which profit should be pursued immediately, while nature protection is left for later. Ecological crisis is a new phenomenon, but derived from anthropological crisis. This reflects, at a global level, man＇s inner crisis. Every man in part, and not people or humanity in general, is responsible for this crisis. Individual responsibility is not a question of quality, but a question of quantity. The ecological crisis is linked to the personal and social life of man as a whole. The convenience, lack of respect for things, irrational waste, lack of measure, irresponsibility, injustice, exploitation, winning dirty money, eudemonism, which manifest on all aspects of life and human activity, are factors that provoke it. And, unfortunately, they maintain it.

The Process of Environmental Institutionalization in Mozambique

The late 1980s began a transition from a centrally planned economic system to a market economy in Mozambique. This transition was marked by a gradual decentralization of public administration and the cross consideration of environmental issues. In our times, research and environmental studies are globally centrals to multiples fields of knowledge, based on this we try to reflect on the process of institutionalization of environmental issues in Mozambique. Our goal is to analytically explorer the political, social and economic contours that allow characterizing the beginning of this process. This article is the result of exploratory research using the qualitative method of analysis. The results showed that the beginning of the environmental issue institutionalization process in Mozambique was the result of various government initiatives and financial demands inherent in the development process, and filled in rhetorical strategies of different styles and motives, being pierced by political conflicts and fmancial, both at the state level as the meagerly existing civil society in this period. In this paper, we present and analyzed the socio-historical circumstances that interspersed the process of environmental institutionalization, indicating exogenous and endogenous factors that proved decisive for the current environmental institutional status in Mozambique.

The Effects of Greenhouse Gases Regulation on Wages and Rents: Policy Issues and General Equilibrium Analysis

The stringency of environmental policy is likely to change the gains of economic agents. Using a general equilibrium model and an assumption that capital-intensive industries tend to be intensive emitters of greenhouse gases (GHG), we find that a stricter GHG emission scheme will reduce the rent for capital owners but increase the wage for workers. This effect could motivate capital owners or workers to oppose or support a stricter GHG policy. The paper also empirically assesses the model’s key assumption by using production input (capital stock and labor), output, and GHG emission data from U.S industrial sectors. The regression result supports a strong positive relationship between the capital-labor ratio and the pollution-output ratio. Therefore, the theoretical analysis is relevant to the actual economy.

Strategic Environmental Assessment to Improve Infrastructure Impact Assessments in Brazil

The wider consideration of environmental effects and alternatives in early stages of decision-making has been pointed as one of the major benefits of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). Adopted by virtually all of developed countries and sprawling around emergent and developing ones, it is recognized that SEA effectiveness is attached to its systematic application in development plans and programmes. Brazil and many developing countries have different experiences with this instrument and lacks of definition of a procedural framework to promote the use of SEA in strategic levels of decision. As a consequence development projects are frequently “threatened” by impact assessment outcomes, especially when a mandatory project-EIA has to inform decisions. In order to contribute to the implementation of SEA in developing countries, the present paper discusses the potential benefits of using SEA in transport infrastructure plans and programmes, through a case study applied to transport plans in the state of Sao Paulo (south-eastern Brazil). The outcomes indicate that SEA could contribute to improve infrastructure impact assessments, minimizing social and environmental conflicts, augmenting the acceptability of projects and decisions, reinforcing the need for SEA to be systematically implemented in Brazil.

THE INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT AND OUR FOREIGN POLICY

After the bombing of our embassy in Belgrade, Chinese students of internationalrelations tensely discussed about China’s international environment. The manyopinions fell into two basic groups. One expressed the belief that the war in Kosovobrought about a fundamental change of the international environment; the othergroup thought that the Kosovo War merely reflected the post-Cold War interna-tional reality rather than changing the international environment. In order to cor-

Does Environmental Laws and Policies Work?A Review Of Ghana’s Case

Enforcing environmental laws and policies has been one of the pressing agenda globally.Despite the mandate given to the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA)by the Act 490,there are still numerous environmental issues unaddressed in Ghana.This paper is geared towards unravelling and identifying the current additions that have been made to existing literature on environmental laws and policies in Ghana.This paper made a wide-ranging general literature review to outline significant contributions concerning environmental laws and policies.Numerous environmental laws and policies were identified but have been fragmented and are not codified in a particular document.It is evident from the review of literature existing that there are still areas for advanced research on the topic of environmental laws and policies placing more emphasis on institution concerned with environmental issues at global level.The study recommended the need for capacity building for environmental personnel and data due to the numerous technological advancement to better assist the implementation and enforcement of environmental laws in Ghana.

Environmental improvement or industry enhancement?A case study on the impact of environmental regulations on Chinese automobile industry

Developing countries are encouraged to pursue environmental protection and industrial development simultaneously,although it is a big challenge to reach win-win situation.This study explored the relationshipbetween environmental regulations and the industry enhancement in developing countries through conducting an empirical analysis of the impact of environmental regulationson Chinese automobile industry.In the empirical analysis,a total of64Chinese automobile enterprises were investigated,the Malmquist index of total factor productivity was adopted to determine the productivity of Chinese automobiles,and the two-step system Generalised Method of Moments(GMM)estimation was used for the regressionanalysis.The resultsshowedthat environmental regulations negatively affected the productivity and technology of Chinese automobile industry during 2004-2018.The production costof automobile industry in China was rising sharply,and the productivity and technological progress of Chinese automobile industry were impeded significantly.The case of Chinese automobile industry illustrated that strict environmental requirements can negatively impact industry productivity by increasing production costs and squeezing industry profits.

Health Impacts and Mechanisms of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) from Epidemiological to Toxicological

This research provides a comprehensive analysis of the health impacts of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) through an integration of epidemiological and toxicological studies. The study identifies significant correlations between PFAS exposure and adverse health outcomes, including thyroid dysfunction, elevated cholesterol levels, and increased risk of specific cancers. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, the research combines a systematic review and meta-analysis of recent literature with in vitro and in vivo toxicological experiments. The epidemiological analysis reveals increased risks of thyroid dysfunction, cholesterol elevation, and certain cancers among PFAS-exposed individuals. Toxicological findings further corroborate these results, showing dose-dependent cytotoxic effects in human cell lines and endocrine disruption in rodent models. The study emphasizes the importance of regulatory measures to mitigate PFAS exposure and the urgent need for more comprehensive research into their long-term effects. The integration of epidemiological and toxicological data underscores the significant health risks posed by PFAS, highlighting the necessity of immediate action to limit exposure and develop safer alternatives.

Environmental impact assessments should include rigorous scientific peer review

Twenty USA states or jurisdictions and 125 nations have modeled national environmental policies after the National Environmental Policy Act.That act mandates that federal agencies initiate environmental impact statements(EISs)when substantive environmental or human health consequences are likely because of an agency action related to proposed development projects.The science used to inform the EIS process,however,does not require independent scientific peer review(ISPR)in the USA or most other nations.But ISPR is needed for governments to accurately inform the EIS decision-making and public reporting processes.Instead,science is routinely manipulated during EIS reviews to generate expedient project outcomes with substantially negative ecological,political,and long-term economic consequences.We provide four examples of EISs that lack ISPR,as well as four examples where reviews by independent scientists were helpful to improve agency decisions.We also recommend that independent scientists(no affiliation with the project proponents or agencies overseeing projects)be used to help assess potential environmental and socio-economic impacts,as well as offer appropriate risk assessments,study designs,and monitoring timeframes.We conclude that nations should convene formal reviews using independent scientists as a form of peer review in the EIS process.