Research On Local Government Environmental Responsibility Of China

As an important subject of Chinese national environmental governance system,local governments play a leading role in responding to environmental realities and coordinating disputes among various parties’ interests,and the implementation of environmental responsibilities often leads to changes in environmental conditions within their jurisdictions or even in a wider area,affecting the environmental rights of the public.To promote the construction of ecological civilization and build a beautiful China,it is necessary to optimize the environmental responsibilities of local governments.This paper is divided into four levels to study the environmental responsibility of local governments.Firstly,the basic content of environmental responsibility of local governments in China is sorted out.The current problems of environmental responsibility of local governments in China are analyzed at three levels: in the concept of responsibility,there are problems of inadequate implementation of the concept of sustainable development,neglect of citizens’ environmental rights,and inadequate understanding of responsible government;in the regulation of responsibility,there are inadequacies in legislation,the legal norms do not set up responsible subjects,and the local government’s environmental responsibility is not clearly defined.In terms of responsibility norms,the legislation is insufficient,the legal norms are not clear in setting the subjects of responsibility,and the systematization of local governments’ environmental responsibility is low;in terms of responsibility practice,there are problems of insufficient ability to deal with environmental risks,imperfect responsibility implementation mechanism,lack of effectiveness of responsibility investigation mechanism,and low public participation.Secondly,we summarize and learn from the advanced experience of the United States,Germany and Japan by analyzing their legislation in terms of legislative system,environmental responsibility system,supervision and control mechanism.Finally,the following suggestions are made to improve the environmental responsibility of local governments: First,the concept of local government responsibility should be updated,including deepening the connotation of the concept of sustainable development,establishing the concept of environmental rights,and abiding by the concept of responsible government.Second,to improve the norms of local government environmental responsibility,including overcoming the shortcomings in environmental responsibility legislation,clarifying the legal status of local governments in environmental responsibility,and improving the systematization of local government environmental responsibility.Third,to improve the mechanism of local government environmental responsibility,including improving the ability of local government to deal with environmental risks,expanding the mechanism of local government environmental responsibility,improving the effectiveness of the accountability mechanism,and promoting public participation in local environmental governance,so as to make local government environmental responsibility more scientific and efficient.