Environmental regulation and corporate tax avoidance-Evidence from China.

In this study, we used a difference-in-difference (DID) approach to analyze the effect of environmental regulation on corporate tax avoidance behavior based on China's carbon emissions trading pilot policy of 2013. Our findings were as follows: (1) Environmental regulation has led companies to adopt further tax evasion behaviors. Furthermore, the core conclusion was confirmed after a series of robust and endogenous tests, such as parallel trends and PSM-DID (propensity score matching-difference-in-difference). (2) Environmental regulations increase tax avoidance activities by reducing corporate cash flows. (3) The influence of environmental regulation on firm tax evasion is highly pronounced among non-state-owned enterprises, big-scale enterprises, and enterprises with a high degree of industry competition.

The accessibility of data on environmental risk assessment of pharmaceuticals - are environmental risk assessments information on emissions with respect to international and European environmental information law?

In the pharmaceutical sector, the right of access to environmental information is in most cases not feasible as the authorisation holders refer to commercially/industrial confidential information (CCI). However, CCI can not refuse access to environmental risk assessments (ERAs) if ERAs are to be classified as information on emissions. Pharmaceuticals inevitably enter the environment as a consequence of their intended use. This release is calculated in the ERA as predicted environmental concentration when a pharmaceutical is approved. The release of pharmaceuticals into the environment falls consequently under the term 'emissions into the environment'. In addition, the ERAs assessing the risk of this release are to be classified as 'information on emissions into the environment'. Therefore, the practiced secrecy of ERAs of pharmaceuticals and their official assessment reports is incompatible with Art. 4 Aarhus Convention, and the European and national implementing provisions for this article, which require access to such environmental information on emissions for everyone, irrespective of whether they concern CCI. With this legal disclosure obligation of ERAs, there is an enforceable right of access for everyone, which shows the necessity for establishing a publicly accessible database based on active pharmaceutical ingredients with substantiated information on the ERAs.

Judicial Opinions Arising from Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Activities.

Legal Perspectives is aimed at informing healthcare providers, emergency planners, public health practitioners, and other decision makers about important legal issues related to public health and healthcare preparedness and response. The articles describe these potentially challenging topics and conclude with the authors' suggestions for further action. The articles do not provide legal advice. Therefore, those affected by the issues discussed in this column should seek further guidance from legal counsel. Readers may submit topics of interest to the column's editor, Lainie Rutkow, JD, PhD, MPH, at lrutkow@jhu.edu. This article describes and analyzes the body of emergency preparedness, response, and recovery litigation that has arisen since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Search terms were developed to identify judicial opinions related to emergency preparedness, response, and recovery activities. Using the Thomson Reuters Westlaw legal database, searches were conducted to collect judicial opinions related to disasters that occurred in the United States between September 11, 2001, and December 31, 2015. An electronic form was used for data abstraction. Cases that did not directly involve emergency response, preparedness, or recovery activities were excluded. Data were summarized with descriptive statistics. We identified 215 cases for data abstraction. Many of the cases stemmed from preparedness, response, and recovery activities related to hurricanes (57.7%) and terrorist attacks (16.7%). The most prevalent emergency response activities at issue were disaster mitigation (29.3%), disaster clean-up (21.9%), a defendant's duty to plan (14.4%), evacuation (12.6%), and conditions of incarceration (12.1%). Although it can be anticipated that litigation will arise out of all phases of disaster preparedness, response, and recovery, policymakers can anticipate that the most litigation will result from pre-event mitigation and post-event recovery activities, and allocate resources accordingly.

Integrating Aquatic Designated Use Protection and Restoration Strategies Using an Ecosystem Goods and Services Framework.

Water quality standards programs in the United States and other countries are based on designated uses (DUs), which are linked to criteria that specify maximum pollutant levels and other characteristics that are thresholds for waterbody compliance with regulatory goals. Most DUs are similar to certain provisioning ecosystem goods and services (EGS), such as drinking water supply and recreation (e.g., boating, fishing). Absent in the DU concept are supporting or regulating services, which results in disjointed and often ineffective aquatic ecosystem protection and restoration strategies. The focus on discrete sets of water quality parameters in the DU concept can often result in the appearance of conflicting DUs, resulting in poor provisioning of certain DUs. We present a framework that uses EGS to provide a more holistic assessment of DUs and to help inform best management practices that could result in fuller attainment of DUs while providing greater provisioning of desired goods and services. Two case studies are discussed, demonstrating some of the issues with the DU concept, how it is implemented in the United States, and how the EGS framework can provide a crosswalk between the DU paradigm and stakeholder goals for a watershed. A process is presented that could help regulatory agencies and stakeholders make better use of the EGS framework in DU decisions, including watershed protection and restoration. The EGS framework presented here, coupled with a watershed stakeholder process focused on developing an integrative management strategy based on the framework, could help achieve multiple beneficial uses in an aquatic system. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2019;15:808-818. © 2019 SETAC.

How could phytoextraction reduce Cd content in soils under annual crops? Simulations in the French context.

Human populations are threatened by chronic exposure to the Cd accumulated in foods after being taken up from soils by crops. To evaluate how phytoextraction with the hyperaccumulator Noccaea caerulescens as an annual crop or as a cover crop could modify the Cd mass balance in French agricultural soils, we simulated this process according to two scenarios. If current practices are maintained (first scenario), the average soil Cd content will increase by 2.9% after a century. If Cd content in P fertilizers is limited according to the European regulation project (second scenario), the decrease will be of about 4%. A phytoextraction crop with a 10 t dry matter (DM) ha-1 yield every 25 years would bring down the soil Cd content from 0.31 mg kg-1 to around 0.11 mg kg-1. However, this scenario is relatively unrealistic, because high dry matter yield is unlikely and the cost of the process is elevated. Phytoextraction as a cover crop every four to five years would decrease the soil Cd content more quickly. This requires a 2.5 t DM ha-1 yield, which appears realistic. This cover crop phytoextraction would be cheaper. It would need annual sowing of 4 million ha and the production of around 10 million t of dry biomass. To meet such a requirement, any breeding of the hyperaccumulator should favour traits allowing a 3-4 month cultivation period in the autumn. Processes also have to be developed to recover energy, metal or beneficial compounds from the biomass produced by phytoextraction.

Eutrophication: A new wine in an old bottle?

Eutrophication is one of the most common causes of water quality impairment of inland and marine waters. Its best-known manifestations are toxic cyanobacteria blooms in lakes and waterways and proliferations of green macro algae in coastal areas. The term eutrophication is used by both the scientific community and public policy-makers, and therefore has a myriad of definitions. The introduction by the public authorities of regulations to limit eutrophication is a source of tension and debate on the activities identified as contributing or having contributed decisively to these phenomena. Debates on the identification of the driving factors and risk levels of eutrophication, seeking to guide public policies, have led the ministries in charge of the environment and agriculture to ask for a joint scientific appraisal to be conducted on the subject. Four French research institutes were mandated to produce a critical scientific analysis on the latest knowledge of the causes, mechanisms, consequences and predictability of eutrophication phenomena. This paper provides the methodology and the main findings of this two years exercise involving 40 scientific experts.

Regulations are needed to protect freshwater ecosystems from salinization.

Anthropogenic activities such as mining, agriculture and industrial wastes have increased the rate of salinization of freshwater ecosystems around the world. Despite the known and probable consequences of freshwater salinization, few consequential regulatory standards and management procedures exist. Current regulations are generally inadequate because they are regionally inconsistent, lack legal consequences and have few ion-specific standards. The lack of ion-specific standards is problematic, because each anthropogenic source of freshwater salinization is associated with a distinct set of ions that can present unique social and economic costs. Additionally, the environmental and toxicological consequences of freshwater salinization are often dependent on the occurrence, concentration and ratios of specific ions. Therefore, to protect fresh waters from continued salinization, discrete, ion-specific management and regulatory strategies should be considered for each source of freshwater salinization, using data from standardized, ion-specific monitoring practices. To develop comprehensive monitoring, regulatory, and management guidelines, we recommend the use of co-adaptive, multi-stakeholder approaches that balance environmental, social, and economic costs and benefits associated with freshwater salinization.This article is part of the theme issue 'Salt in freshwaters: causes, ecological consequences and future prospects'.

From State-controlled to Polycentric Governance in Forest Landscape Restoration: The Case of the Ecological Forest Purchase Program in Yong'an Municipality of China.

Forest landscape restoration is emerging as an effective approach to restore degraded forests for the provision of ecosystem services and to minimize trade-offs between conservation and rural livelihoods. Policy and institutional innovations in China illustrate the governance transformation of forest landscape restoration from state-controlled to polycentric governance. Based on a case study of the Ecological Forest Purchase Program in Yong'an municipality, China's Fujian Province, this paper explores how such forest governance transformation has evolved and how it has shaped the outcomes of forest landscape restoration in terms of multi-dimensionality and actor configurations. Our analysis indicates that accommodating the participation of multiple actors and market-based instruments facilitate a smoother transition from state-centered to polycentric governance in forest landscape restoration. Governance transitions for forest landscape restoration must overcome a number of challenges including ensurance of a formal participation forum, fair participation, and a sustainable legislative and financial system to enhance long-term effectiveness.

Assessing watercourse quality: challenges in implementing European and Swiss legal frameworks.

Hydro-climatic changes and the increasing release of pollutants into rivers by human activities tend to affect the quality of watercourses, to alter aquatic ecosystems and to reduce the amount of useable water. The ecological and chemical states of rivers and their evolution is thus of growing concern. In Europe and Switzerland, water policies are progressively shifting towards a holistic approach of river systems. The European Commission notably established a framework to highlight rivers' ecological deficits and to enhance regional or local water management plans. In Switzerland, a similar framework is currently under development. In this paper, both procedures are compared and implemented in a Swiss catchment dominated by agricultural activities. The aim is to define the challenges that still need to be addressed to assess and sustain river health. The hydromorphological, ecological, and ecotoxicological quality of the river was evaluated. Both frameworks highlighted the fact that no section of the river can currently be classified as being in a good environmental state and that the state deteriorates as tributaries and wastewater discharge flow into the main riverbed. Chemical issues and water quality changes due to hydro-climatic variations and management strategies were also pinpointed. Both frameworks are thus useful tools to survey changes in rivers quality in space and over time. However, challenges remain regarding the appropriate strategies to monitor and analyze chemicals, the definition of target values and conditions, the evaluation and integration of human-induced pressures, and the overall evaluation of the state of a river. The development of integrated indicators or of ecosystem services approaches is considered as a potential solution to explore river health and to define efficient restoration measures by water managers.

Toward a More Sustainable Trajectory for E-Waste Policy: A Review of a Decade of E-Waste Research in Accra, Ghana.

Global flows of e-waste from the Global North to the Global South continue to damage local environments and harm human health. Weak e-waste regulations and limited use of safety measures for e-waste workers in Accra, Ghana, foster an exploitative environment within the industry, and pose health risks for those working and living near e-waste processing sites. This paper presents an integrated review of over 40 e-waste studies specific to Accra, with particular emphasis on the well-studied e-waste processing site in Agbogbloshie, and synthesizes the existing research base across interdisciplinary themes of human health, environmental health, globalization, trade and informalization, and public policy. Despite significant international attention to Accra's e-waste problem, loopholes within international environmental regulations and treaties provide few incentives and resources for Ghana to strengthen protections for human and environmental health. After a decade of e-waste research in Accra, the crisis continues to intensify; we present a renewed vision for sustainable e-waste policy reform in Ghana and beyond.

Temporal and spatial characteristics of lead emissions from the lead-acid battery manufacturing industry in China.

An inventory of lead emissions was established for the lead-acid battery (LAB) manufacturing industry in China from 2000 to 2014. The lead emissions from the LAB manufacturing industry increased from 133 t in 2000 to a peak at 281 t in 2010 with the rapid development of LAB industry. Since 2011, a mandatory national clean action on LAB industry and a series of retrofitting measures have been implemented in China. As a result, more than 80% of small and low-efficient LAB manufacturers were closed, and technical-environmental performance of the industry has been improved significantly. Thus the lead emissions from the industry declined to 113 t in 2014. Geographically, lead emissions were attributed to several provinces with intensive LAB manufacturers, including Zhejiang, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shandong, and Hebei Province. Spatial transfer of the LAB manufacturing industry from developed areas to developing areas in China was manifest due to strict environmental regulation, posing potential environmental risks to the areas undertaking the industry transfer. In light of the effectiveness of the national clean action, the LAB manufacturing industry will reduce lead emissions further by implementing the entry criteria strictly, adopting policy of total lead emissions control, and establishing a long-term regulatory mechanism for LAB manufacturers. The local authorities in some developing areas should improve abilities of environmental supervision and environmental risk prevention to deal with the spillover of lead emissions.

Lessons Learned from an Industry, Government and University Collaboration to Restore Stream Habitats and Mitigate Effects.

Restoration ecologists conduct both basic and applied research using a diversity of funding and collaborative models. Over the last 17 years we have assessed the effectiveness of a stream compensation project in Canada's north, where an independent university-based research program was a condition of the regulatory approval process. This resulted in a non-traditional university-government-industry partnership. Here we share seven lessons that we learned from our collective experiences with the research partnership and use the Ekati diamond mine as a case study to illustrate and support lessons learned. Our advice includes opinions on the importance of: engaging collaborators early, defining roles and responsibilities, data sharing and standardization, the use of natural streams to set restoration targets, expect setbacks and surprises, treating restoration as an opportunity to experiment, and how to define success. Many of the lessons learned are broadly applicable to those whom embark on research collaborations among industry, universities, and consulting companies within a regulatory framework and may be of particular value to collaborators in early stages of their career.

Functional remediation components: A conceptual method of evaluating the effects of remediation on risks to ecological receptors.

Governmental agencies, regulators, health professionals, tribal leaders, and the public are faced with understanding and evaluating the effects of cleanup activities on species, populations, and ecosystems. While engineers and managers understand the processes involved in different remediation types such as capping, pump and treat, and natural attenuation, there is often a disconnect between (1) how ecologists view the influence of different types of remediation, (2) how the public perceives them, and (3) how engineers understand them. The overall goal of the present investigation was to define the components of remediation types (= functional remediation). Objectives were to (1) define and describe functional components of remediation, regardless of the remediation type, (2) provide examples of each functional remediation component, and (3) explore potential effects of functional remediation components in the post-cleanup phase that may involve continued monitoring and assessment. Functional remediation components include types, numbers, and intensity of people, trucks, heavy equipment, pipes, and drill holes, among others. Several components may be involved in each remediation type, and each results in ecological effects, ranging from trampling of plants, to spreading invasive species, to disturbing rare species, and to creating fragmented habitats. In some cases remediation may exert a greater effect on ecological receptors than leaving the limited contamination in place. A goal of this conceptualization is to break down functional components of remediation such that managers, regulators, and the public might assess the effects of timing, extent, and duration of different remediation options on ecological systems.

Nylon 6,6 Nonwoven Fabric Separates Oil Contaminates from Oil-in-Water Emulsions.

Industrial oil spills into aquatic environments can have catastrophic environmental effects. First responders to oil spills along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico in the southern United States have used spunbond nylon fabric bags and fences to separate spilled oil and oil waste from contaminated water. Low area mass density spunbond nylon is capable of sorbing more than 16 times its mass in low viscosity crude oil and more than 26 times its mass in higher viscosity gear lube oil. Nylon bags separated more than 95% of gear lube oil contaminate from a 4.5% oil-in-water emulsion. Field testing of spunbond nylon fences by oil spill first responders has demonstrated the ability of this material to contain the oily contaminate while allowing water to flow through. We hypothesize that the effectiveness of nylon as an oil filter is due to the fact that it is both more oleophilic and more hydrophilic than other commonly used oil separation materials. The nylon traps oil droplets within the fabric or on the surface, while water droplets are free to flow through the fabric to the water on the opposite side of the fabric.

Prevention policies addressing packaging and packaging waste: Some emerging trends.

Packaging waste is a major issue in several countries. Representing in industrialized countries around 30-35% of municipal solid waste yearly generated, this waste stream has steadily grown over the years even if, especially in Europe, specific recycling and recovery targets have been fixed. Therefore, an increasing attention starts to be devoted to prevention measures and interventions. Filling a gap in the current literature, this explorative paper is a first attempt to map the increasingly important phenomenon of prevention policies in the packaging sector. Through a theoretical sampling, 11 countries/states (7 in and 4 outside Europe) have been selected and analyzed by gathering and studying primary and secondary data. Results show evidence of three specific trends in packaging waste prevention policies: fostering the adoption of measures directed at improving packaging design and production through an extensive use of the life cycle assessment; raising the awareness of final consumers by increasing the accountability of firms; promoting collaborative efforts along the packaging supply chains.

Working towards an integrated land contamination management framework for Nigeria.

Over the past five decades, Nigeria has developed a number of contaminated land legislations to address the damage caused primarily by oil and gas exploitation activities. Within these legislations exists elements of risk assessment and risk-based corrective action. Despite this progress, we argue that contaminated land management approaches in Nigeria need further development to be able to integrate new scientific information, and to address environmental, economic, and social values. By comparison, advanced contaminated land regimes in the United Kingdom (UK), the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States of America (USA) apply a number of integrative approaches (e.g. sustainability appraisal, liability regime, funding mechanisms, technology demonstration) that enable them to meet the environmental, economic, and social needs of their populations. In comparison, Nigerian governance lacks many of these mechanisms and management of contaminated land is ad hoc. In this paper we propose an integrated risk assessment framework for Nigeria that incorporates the principles of sustainability and stakeholder engagement into the decision-making processes for contaminated land risk assessment and risk management. The integrated approach relies on transparency to promote acceptance and build trust in institutions, and uses stakeholder engagement to address data deficiencies. We conclude this paper with a roadmap for how Nigeria might implement such an integrative approach into their existing contaminated land regulatory system, as well as identify a series of policy priorities that should be addressed.