New Practice of Environmental Governance in China The Identification of 'Significant Risks' in Preventive Environmental Civil Public Interest Litigation

Preventive environmental civil public interest litigation is an institutional innovation of environmental governance in China. Previous research primarily focuses on the implementation of prevention principles and environmental risk management; however, it fails to identify the significant risks in the new practice. There are significant risks that human behaviour may result in the creation of radioactive toxins and contaminants that are not perceptible to humans and which may have dramatic short- or long-term effects on plants, animals, and humans. This paper seeks to close this research gap. A review of typical cases revealed three elements that judges should consider when identifying significant risks in preventive environmental public interest litigation. Firstly, the significant risks involved in the case must be directly related to the public interest. Secondly, the probability of significant risks occurring should be emphasised. Thirdly, the proportionality principle should be adhered to in deciding on preventive means to be used in the case. We found some ambiguities and defects in the identification of significant risks. This article makes proposals to improve environmental legislation and application ambiguities in new practice in order to contribute to better environmental governance.