The article explores the practices of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Law in China's courts by examining 107 judicial decisions. Each of the 107 judicial decisions has been analyzed to ...determine the time/location of the decision, what type of EIA document was referred to, what specific claim was made by the plaintiffs, and what the court's ruling was on the case. The results indicate that: unlike in Germany or Japan, all kinds of EIA decisions made by environment protect bureaus (EPBs) in China were widely taken as justiciable, and China's courts generally allowed local residents to have standing and thus challenge the EPBs' decisions made during the EIA process. On the other hand, the research also shows the EPBs overwhelmingly prevailed in those EIA lawsuits. It is also found that China's reviewing judges were highly self-restrained, giving obvious deference to the technocrat with the substantial contents of EIA documents. Also, the concept of “flaw” was created when it came to procedural issues. These two factors, among others, were both helping the EPBs' prevailing successes.
•107 judicial decisions referring to China's EIA law are examined.•The justiciability of EPB's EIA decisions were taken for granted.•The defenders overwhelmingly prevailed in those EIA lawsuits.•The reviewing judges were highly self-restrained, defering to the technocrat with the EIA documents.•A functional concept, “flaw”, was created by reviewing judges when it came to procedural issues.
Stakeholder engagement (SE), particularly with representatives of locally affected communities, is integral to Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) processes, so critical evaluation of SE is ...necessary across a range of different socio-political contexts. EIA SE practice in the Sultanate of Oman is examined using Q-Methodology, a qualitative-quantitative discourse analysis technique, in order to evaluate key-actor perspectives and policy directions. Four discourses emerge, pertaining to (1) the institutionalisation of SE; (2) business as usual; (3) rights-centred engagement; and (4) decentralisation of EIA institutions. Consensus emerges that shows support for transparency and formalisation of SE; greater citizen-centred decision-making power; transparency in government guidelines; and the elimination of developer-led consultation processes. Policy options for reforming EIA policy are discussed, including a code of participation practice and a toolkit of suitable engagement methods.
The drive to decarbonise our economy needs to be built into our technology development, particularly in the energy storage industry. A method for creating performance targets for battery development ...based on environmental impact is presented and discussed. By taking the environmental impact assessments from existing lithium-ion battery technology-it is possible to derive energy density, cycle life and % active material targets required to achieve equal or better environmental impacts for emerging technologies to use. A parameter 'goal space' is presented using this technique for an aqueous aluminium-ion battery in its early development. This method is based on the main reason for battery technology advancement-the mitigation of climate change and the reduction of overall CO
emissions in society. By starting out with targets based on emission data, sustainability will be at the centre of battery research, as it should be.
The purpose of this paper is the discussion of the environmental effects of a free-floating car-sharing system operating in Ulm, Germany. The system, called car2go, allows users to take and leave ...vehicles at any point within the city limits. Thus opposed to traditional car-sharing, there are no fixed stations and in particular one-way trips of any length are possible without a booking requirement. Since this is the first free-floating system in operation, there is as yet no associated empirical research. Based on primary data from a survey, a model was developed to forecast the environmental impact of car2go. The prognosis considers the period of five years after the launch of car2go in 2009 and indicates a CO
2-reduction per average car2go-user. In addition, more than a quarter of the survey respondents stated that they may forgo a car purchase if car2go was offered permanently. By reaching a greater share of citizens than traditional systems, the results indicate that free-floating car-sharing systems could contribute to reducing private vehicle ownership in cities.
► This study discusses the environmental effects of a free-floating car-sharing system. ► The applied research design is a forecast, based on a quantitative survey. ► The results are similar per average car-sharing user compared to traditional systems. ► But through a higher market penetration more users are reached. ► Free-floating fleets could reduce car ownership in cities.
Aqueous Zn‐ion batteries (ZIBs) are regarded as alternatives to Li‐ion batteries benefiting from both improved safety and environmental impact. The widespread application of ZIBs, however, is ...compromised by the lack of high‐performance cathodes. Currently, only the intercalation mechanism is widely reported in aqueous ZIBs, which significantly limits cathode options. Beyond Zn‐ion intercalation, we comprehensively study the conversion mechanism for Zn2+ storage and its diffusion pathway in a CuI cathode, indicating that CuI occurs a direct conversion reaction without Zn2+ intercalation due to the high energy barrier for Zn2+ intercalation and migration. Importantly, this direct conversion reaction mechanism can be readily generalized to other high‐capacity cathodes, such as Cu2S (336.7 mA h g−1) and Cu2O (374.5 mA h g−1), indicating its practical universality. Our work enriches the Zn‐ion storage mechanism and significantly broadens the cathode horizons towards next‐generation ZIBs.
Beyond Zn‐ion intercalation, the conversion mechanism for Zn‐ion storage and its diffusion pathway in CuI cathodes were studied. This direct conversion mechanism can be generalized to other high‐capacity cathodes, such as Cu2S (336.7 mA h g−1) and Cu2O (374.5 mA h g−1), indicating its practical universality, which enriches the Zn2+ storage mechanism and broadens the cathode horizons towards next‐generation ZIBs.
Energy and environment are drawing greater attention today, particularly with the rapid development of the economy and increase consumption of energy in China. At present, coal-fired power plants are ...mainly responsible for atmospheric air pollution. The selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology is a highly effective method for NO
X
control. The present study identified and quantified the energy consumption and the environmental impacts of SCR system throughout the whole life cycle, including production and transportation of manufacturing materials, installation and operation of SCR technology. The analysis was conducted with the utilization of life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology which provided a quantitative basis for assessing potential improvements in the environmental performance of the system. The functional unit of the study was 5454
t NO
X
emission from an existing Chinese pulverized coal power plant for 1
year. The current study compared life cycle emissions from two types of de-NO
X
technologies, namely the SCR technology and the selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR) technology, and the case that NO
X
was emitted into atmosphere directly. The results showed that the environmental impact loading resulting from SCR technology (66810 PET
2000) was smaller than that of flue gas emitted into atmosphere directly (164121 PET
2000) and SNCR technology (105225 PET
2000). More importantly, the SCR technology is much more effective at the elimination of acidification and nutrient enrichment than SNCR technology and the case that NO
X
emitted into atmosphere directly. This SCR technology is more friendly to the environment, and can play an important role in NO
X
control for coal-fired power plants as well as industrial boilers.
Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) has recently emerged as a conflict-solving tool to improve World Heritage (WH) conservation in line with sustainable development policies. The increasing number of ...requested HIAs for affected WH properties over the last years reveals that more attention is being paid to HIA as a practical tool to adequately support the protection and management of historic monuments and sites against new constructions and development. However, the application of integrated and systematic impact assessment methods within HIA still remains a key challenge in different HIA projects. Therefore, this paper contributes to the further development of a transparent and systematic procedure of HIA in accordance with Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). It also explores different standard methods of impact assessment in EIA and discusses their applicability to cultural World Heritage properties. Finally, the paper emphasizes a need for developing integrated impact assessment methods to address the multiple impacts of development projects. Such methodological enhancement can further contribute to mitigation strategies and decision-making to protect World Heritage properties within the context of sustainable development.
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