Hong Kong Industrialist - Oct 2020

T he Standing Committee of the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Congress gave a green light to the “Provisions on the Public Interest Litigation of the Ecological Environment in Shenzhen Special Economic Zone”, to become effective on 1 October 2020. The Provisions allow social organisations to file ecologically-related public interest lawsuits against companies and individuals. The authorities could assist social organisations by providing legal advice, assisting in investigations and evidence collection. With the tightening of environmental protection regulations on the Mainland, manufacturers should review the emission of their businesses and adopt measures to ensure compliance. Currently, many green technologies on the market not only help reduce emissions, but also have a shorter payback period than before. We suggest making good use of various subsidies offered by the HKSAR Government and Mainland authorities, such as the Cleaner Production Partnership Programme (CP3) and the “BUD Fund”, to introduce environmental-friendly equipment. Manufacturers can also refer to the demonstration projects under CP3 to purchase suitable green technologies and products for their businesses. 最 近，深圳市人大常委會通過《深圳經濟特區生態環境公益訴訟規定》，並訂於10月1日起實施。是次規 定允許社會組織，即內地已登記的民間組織，可就生態環境事宜向企業及個人提出公益訴訟。有關當 局更可按本規定支援提出公益訴訟的社會組織，例如提供法律意見、協助調查及搜證等，有關法例可謂開 創全國先河。隨着內地環保法規日漸收緊，港商宜及早審視業務的廢水和廢氣排放量，並採取措施確保業 務合規。現時，市面上很多綠色科技不但有助減排，且投資回本期亦較以往為短。我們建議可善用特區政府 及內地當局的各項資助，例如清潔生產伙伴計劃及「BUD專項基金」，為廠房引入環保設備。港商亦可參考 清潔生產伙伴計劃下的示範項目，為業務採購合適的綠色科技及產品。 周治平 Jude Chow Shenzhen New Law to Allow Environmental Lawsuits Involving Public Interests 深圳新法規允生態公益訴訟 10-12/2020 | 13