This book attempts to answer these questions using case studies of three pollution-intensive industries: iron and steel, leather tanning, and fertilizers. Based on in-depth interviews with managers and regulators in Western and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America, the book illustrates the variety of responses to the conflicting pressures of globalization and environmental protection at corporate and industry levels.

International agreements and environmental regulations are important constraints in today's business context. By analyzing development and case studies within NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), the authors demonstrate how firms can develop strategies which utilize international trade and environment regimes to open up international markets.

This book provides a critical perspective on several interconnected themes that relate to the implementation of both domestic and international environmental standards. What are the direct and indirect costs and benefits of these standards? What is the political economy structure that governs their implementation? Do environmental standards affect individuals and economic sectors in different ways? How do environmental standards interact with trade patterns in an ever-globalised world? Understanding the multidimensional effects of environmental standards is crucial for the establishment of effective environmental and development policies. The book presents our current state of knowledge for the issues presented, while also drawing policy insights from a WTO project (on phytosanitary standards) the authors undertook in four Sub-Sahara African countries (Botswana, Cameroon, Kenya and Mozambique).

Challenging views prevalent among Western and Polish scholars, this book explains Poland's surprising success in developing effective environmental and occupational regulatory systems while achieving remarkable socioeconomic growth, despite the toxic legacy of the Communist era. It offers rich insights into the questions of how one can achieve both economic growth and improved environmental and safety protection, and of the extent to which regulatory systems can be transferred across national and cultural boundaries. The authors develop a theoretical framework for assessing regulatory success, then use it to analyze Poland's recent experience. Grounded in five case studies of recently privatized firms, the analysis also presents a new survey of privately owned firms, extensive policy and data analysis, and interviews with key policy leaders, entrepreneurs, and intellectuals. The book points to case-specific decision making and information richness as key dimensions of an effective regulatory system and considers in depth the extent to which information richness is culturally dependent, and hence its portability as a policy tool. Addressing regulatory issues that are specific to both the United States and the international development community, the book makes a significant contribution to advancing the theoretical and conceptual frameworks used to explain the success, or lack of success, of regulatory systems.

Though recently improved, Chinese legislation on environmental permits is still weak and urgent measures are needed to help the country in moving towards an effective permitting system. This book examines this legislation gap and presents a contribution to solving China’s pollution problems. By analysing the deficiencies of current Chinese provisions on permitting in light of EU legislation, and its Italian application, the book determines which permitting legislative structure and approach China should embrace in practice in order to build more comprehensive legislation on emission permitting. It is argued that a set of ad hoc legislative measures should be implemented so as to strengthen China’s environmental protection and efficiently tackle pollution. The book will be a valuable resource for researchers, academics and policy-makers working in the areas of international environmental law and comparative law.

This edition includes material on environmentalism and the law, international environmental law, access to environmental justice, noise pollution and new legislation on pollution prevention and new case law.

Innovation-oriented environmental regulation is extremely attractive for policy planners and decision makers, since it is expected that innovations can cut costs of environmental measures and overcome existing trade-offs between economic and ecological goals. The central question is, however, how such a regulatory regime of environmental policy approaches should look like. This book provides an excellent overview of the state of research by presenting and discussing theoretical approaches towards a framework of environmental regulation and innovation, international case studies as well as econometric and modelling studies from Europe and the USA.

This Handbook brings together the foremost authorities from around the world to provide the first comprehensive account of comparative environmental law. It examines in detail the methodological foundations of the discipline as well as the substance of environmental law across countries.

Derived from the renowned multi-volume International Encyclopaedia of Laws, this book provides ready access to legislation and practice concerning the environment in Hong Kong. A general introduction covers geographic considerations, political, social and cultural aspects of environmental study, the sources and principles of environmental law, environmental legislation, and the role of public authorities. The main body of the book deals first with laws aimed directly at protecting the environment from pollution in specific areas such as air, water, waste, soil, noise, and radiation. Then, a section on nature and conservation management covers protection of natural and cultural resources such as monuments, landscapes, parks and reserves, wildlife, agriculture, forests, fish, subsoil, and minerals. Further treatment includes the application of zoning and land-use planning, rules on liability, and administrative and judicial remedies to environmental issues. There is also an analysis of the impact of international and regional legislation and treaties on environmental regulation. Its succinct yet scholarly nature, as well as the practical quality of the information it provides, make this book a valuable resource for environmental lawyers handling cases affecting Hong Kong. Academics and researchers, as well as business investors and the various international organizations in the field, will welcome this very useful guide, and will appreciate its value in the study of comparative environmental law and policy.

During the last few decades, China has accomplished unprecedented economic growth and has emerged as the second largest economy in the world. This ‘economic miracle’ has led hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, but has also come at a high cost. Environmental degradation and the impact of environmental pollution on health are nowadays issues of the greatest concern for the Chinese public and the government. The Routledge Handbook of Environmental Policy in China focuses on the environmental challenges of China’s rapidly growing economy and provides a comprehensive overview of the policies developed to address the environmental crisis. Leading international scholars and practitioners examine China’s environmental governance efforts from an interdisciplinary perspective. Divided into five parts, the handbook covers the following key issues: Part I: Development of Environmental Policy in China - Actors and Institutions Part II: Key issues and Strategies for Solution Part III: Policy Instruments and Enforcement Part IV: Related Policy Fields – Conflicts and Synergies Part V: China’s Environmental Policy in the International Context This comprehensive handbook will be an invaluable resource to students and scholars of environmental policy and politics, development studies, Chinese studies, geography and international relations.