Dimitri de Boer has a lot of knowledge about environmental rule of law, and how to rise to environmental challenges. As chief representative of ClientEarth’s China office, he is responsible for issues ranging from biodiversity protection to pollution control to climate change and green post-pandemic economic recovery.
ClientEarth, an environmental law charity, was founded in 2008. It has offices in London, Brussels and Warsaw. Its China operations focus on supporting the EU-China environment policy dialogue, supporting the revision and drafting of China’s environmental laws and regulations, as well as building the capacity of environmental judges, prosecutors, and encouraging public participation in the protection of the environment.
De Boer was born in the Netherlands and is fluent in several languages, including Chinese. He has had a strong interest in Asia since he was a teenager. China is an important country with a rich history and culture and a rapidly growing economy. He said that he had visited Yunnan in 1999 and decided that he would spend a few more months learning Chinese in Beijing. He did that in 2002.
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) began de Boer’s work in China the following year. “Environmental Protection is the foundation for sustainable industrial growth. Gradually, I switched my job focus from environmental policy to environmental governance and legal, and then to environmental protection and law. He also spoke about the role of social organisations and the ability to engage the public in environmental protection.
In 2014, he was chosen by the EU delegation as the EU-China Environmental Governance Programme leader. This programme was embedded in China’s Policy Research Center for Environment and Economy, (PRCEE). After the programme ended, he opened ClientEarth’s China office.
EUChina policy dialogue
ClientEarth’s Beijing office has a nice video conference area. De Boer stated that “Due to pandemic, many exchange visit cancellations have occurred, so we shifted in order to do more joint research, and we host many virtual conference with experts from Europe.”
In January 2018, the first phase of the EU/China Environment Project was officially launched. The project, which is funded by the European Union, supports the environmental policy dialogue between China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment and the EU Directate-General for the Environment. It also provides a platform for expert and policy makers to exchange ideas. It is jointly executed by PRCEE, ClientEarth and the German consulting firm GOPA.
De Boer is the project’s team leader. He stated that they had made significant progress in the first phase, which ended June 2021. “Green economic recovery is a priority. We must use this economic stimulus to break away from business as usual and address biodiversity loss and climate changes in the post-pandemic environment,” stated de Boer.
The completion of the first phase EU-China Environment Project coincided also with China’s 14th Five Year Plan (2021-2025), a plan that places even more emphasis on environmental ambitions. These include China’s pledge to reach carbon neutrality before 2060 and peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030. The European Green Deal, which was released at the end 2019 also renewed the EU’s commitment towards net zero greenhouse gas emissions and decoupling economic growth and resource consumption by 2050.
“Despite the disruptions caused by pandemics, both sides have stepped-up their efforts to address environmental problems and readjust priorities in reaction, paving the path for a green post–pandemic economic recovery,” de Boer said, noting that the second stage of the project was launched in July 2021.
One of the most important topics in the EU/China project will be how to make sure that our supply chains do not cause deforestation in third-country countries. This is a priority as huge areas of tropical forests are being converted to the production and sale of commodities such as soy, palm oil or beef. This is the main driver of global biodiversity loss and is undermining Mother Earth’s natural ability to regulate the environment.
Court cases
De Boer said that his team was more than a witness. They were also partners in the Chinese government’s environmental efforts over the years. China’s progress includes the revision of its environmental laws, bringing under control air and water pollution, the launch of carbon trading and the ability for NGOs to bring cases to help the environment. There is also a 10-year ban on fishing within the Yangtze River basin, as well as the delineation of ecological conservation lines and many other things.
ClientEarth is a specialist in environmental law and has a strong cooperation with the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate. De Boer said that “case study is of great benefit to judges.” He also stated that, although the judicial systems in different countries are different, many of these environmental problems that judges or prosecutors deal with are very similar. Sharing stories of specific cases allows judicial professionals from all over the world to learn from each other and help solve common problems.
ClientEarth published a brochure titled Ten Landmark Cases of Biodiversity in October 2021. This was at the occasion of the 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (Kunming), southwest China’s Yunnan Province. One of those cases was the story of a recent Chinese ruling that saved the habitat for the endangered green peacock.
Yunnan, China’s second largest hydroelectric power producer, is proud to be one of the most biodiverse areas in the country. The national treasure status for the giant panda, the green peafowl is similar to the critically endangered Chinese green peafowl. The proposed Gasajiang River hydropower station would have submerged the home to more than half the green peafowls. After two years, eight months of hardwork and many hearings, the Kunming Intermediate People’s Court ruled in March 2020 that the contractor for the hydropower station must immediately cease construction until an environmental impact assessment is completed. After an appeal, the Yunnan High People’s Court ruled the ruling final in December 2020.
“The greenpeafowl case was a landmark win. It was China’s first and most significant case of preventive public-interest litigation for conservation of endangered species. He also mentioned that the case highlights the critical role of China’s judicial systems in biodiversity conservation.
ClientEarth invited top judges from different countries to record a series on climate science and litigation in 2021. This lecture will be used by Chinese environmental judges to help them understand the latest trends and adjudicate climate cases.
Green transition
China plays an essential role in global environmental governance. In a video speech given at the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly on September 21, 2021 by Xi Jinping, China’s President announced that China would increase its support for developing countries to develop green and low carbon energy and that it would not build any new coal-fired projects.
De Boer said, “This announcement marked an important moment in the global climate transition.” According to the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air, an independent research organization that released the report, China was the largest investor overseas in coal-fired power plants over the past ten years. China’s decision to end these investments is driving strong demand for renewable energy sources like solar and wind. He said that China’s actions promote not only the green recovery from the pandemic, but also speed up the transition to green energy in other countries and provide more financial and technical assistance for developing countries to combat climate change.
ClientEarth worked with the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China on greening the Belt and Road Initiative. There have been many successes, including research on the green development guideline (BRI) that will help to mitigate climate and investment risks. ClientEarth also conducted research on trends in coal exclusion policies and outbound investments. This has helped China make its decision to stop building overseas coal-fired power plants.
Participation of the public
“In recent years, China has placed great importance on environmental protection and has passed numerous laws and regulations. These laws and regulations must be put into practice using both the power of the judiciary and the active participation by civil society and ordinary citizens. De Boer noted that new problems are always emerging and that environmental protection must keep pace with China’s rapid development.
“Air pollution and its effects on health have been the focus of a lot of public attention since 2013. We all keep an eye on the official PM2.5 readings and this has helped us all to better understand how to deal with it.” De Boer said that environmental information disclosure is essential to increase public awareness.
Air pollution is different from climate change. He stated that increasing amounts of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere can have irreversible impacts such as global warming, rising sea level, melting glaciers, and extreme weather like heat waves, floods and changes in rainfall. These are all threatening our food security, biodiversity, livelihoods, and livelihoods. “To address all these challenges, it is imperative to increase understanding of climate change and to encourage the public to take action. Temperatures will continue rising until the whole world is carbon neutral.
China’s 2015 Environmental Protection Law has a whole chapter on environmental information disclosure. This is a key component of much of the progress made since then, de Boer stated.
“During the last few years, my team, and I have been honored as a bridge between environment officials, judges, and prosecutors from China, and abroad,” de Boer said. He also stressed that public participation is among their guiding principles. This includes environmental information disclosure, corporate sustainability, and accessing justice in environmental cases. As it builds a system for multi-stakeholder environmental governance, the Chinese government clearly promotes all of these principles.
Despite their differing political systems, China is and EU share many of the same environment problems. Therefore, it is valuable to learn from each others’ solutions. Even more important, these exchanges foster mutual trust, which is crucial in tackling global issues like ocean degradation and biodiversity loss, climate change, and other challenges.
