Public Participation in Decision-making on Renewable Energy Projects

Download or read book Public Participation in Decision-making on Renewable Energy Projects written by Yankun Zhao and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Under the context of addressing climate change and reaching carbon neutrality, renewable energy (RE) development and the promotion of public participation in environmental decision-making are two essential initiatives in the environmental law field. Despite a green label attached with RE, its development may conflict with public environmental rights contributing to public opposition to proposed RE projects (REPs). The effectiveness of public participation is vital for the REPs as well as the success of the carbon neutrality goals. This book aims to provide suggestions for Chinese legal reform of public participation in decision-making on REPs by drawing from the English experience. Drawing insight from the English experience is novel to this book. England provides useful lessons on implementing public participation, but none of the existing literature systematically examines the legal framework for public participation in decision-making on REPs in England and in China. This book addresses this gap and examines the public's right to participate in decision-making in these jurisdictions. The book identifies the role of public participation in decision-making on REPs and identifies the related legislative issues under the Aarhus Convention, a multinational treaty on public participation. It discusses a critical issue -- 'Green on Green' tension -- arising in RE development and reveals the underlying factors contributing to this tension. This book systematically analyses the relevant requirements in English law and Chinese law. It also reviews the implementation issues in practice through an examination of case studies. The analysis in this research shows that Chinese law has improved regarding public participation in decision-making with respect to REPs. However, it also demonstrates that the current legal framework still does not adequately address all the problems that can lead to ineffective public participation. Against international and English experience, this book presents principles for best practice and proposes suggestions for Chinese legal reform in an effort to improve the effectiveness of public participation in decision-making on REPs.--Publisher.