scholarly journals Evaluating China’s Environmental Management and Risks Avoidance Policies and Regulations on Offshore Methane Hydrate Extraction

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (13) ◽  
pp. 5331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dong Yan ◽  
Paolo Farah ◽  
Ivana Gaskova ◽  
Carlo Giabardo
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Methane Hydrate ◽  
Extraction Process ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Methane Hydrates ◽  
Catastrophic Events ◽  
Legal Challenge ◽  
Effective System ◽  
Leading Position ◽  
Global Energy Supply

Methane hydrates (hereinafter, MH), for many reasons, are widely recognized as a form of sustainable energy due to their environmentally friendly nature. MH, while burning, produce fresh water, which could in turn offer one possible solution to worldwide shortages of water. MH also maintains the capacity to change the landscape of the global energy supply. According to recent scientific evaluations, the potential global supply of MH is even higher than the total storage of traditional crude oil and conventional natural gas. However, its offshore extraction process could be linked to both catastrophic and non-catastrophic events that may contribute to global warming and climate change, cause harm to human health and life, endanger the flora and fauna, and threaten the very global environment as a whole. Therefore, from a legal viewpoint, an efficient and effective system of civil liability rules seem crucial to control the risks, and to compensate the victims to which damages may occur. This article takes into consideration China’s legal framework in assessing the risks connected to MH offshore extraction. Such a choice for examination is justified by China’s leading position for implementing the technology necessary for extracting MH. This analysis shows that China’s current legal instruments are still far from fully equipped to prevent the risks associated with the offshore extraction of MH, as well as to offer effective remedies for the victims once any damages have occurred. Therefore, more efficient measures and remedies should be considered (or even imposed) to address the specific risks of offshore methane hydrate extraction. Indeed, in the past few decades, China’s environmental protection laws and regulations have mainly focused on the environmental risks that may occur during the process of extracting conventional resources; however, they do not address methane hydrates specifically. This presents a legal challenge for environmental protection laws. The potentially catastrophic events that may occur as a result of the offshore MH extraction processes in particular present a legal challenge for environmental protection laws in China and across the globe. Thus, this article focuses on how to prevent these risks before they even occur, followed by a careful attempt to address compensation efforts for any damages caused by said catastrophes.

Governing the transboundary risks of offshore methane hydrate exploration in the seabed and ocean floor—an analysis on international provisions and Chinese law†

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-203
Author(s):  
Dong Yan ◽  
Paolo Davide Farah ◽  
Tivadar Ötvös ◽  
Ivana Gaskova
Keyword(s):  
Methane Hydrate ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Damage Control ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Environmental Harm ◽  
Methane Hydrates ◽  
International Role ◽  
Deep Seabed Mining ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The Unclos

Abstract Considering the fact that its existence is abundant while maintaining the ability to generate freshwater while burning, methane hydrates have been classified as sources of sustainable energy. China currently maintains an international role in developing technology meant to explore offshore methane hydrates buried under the mud of the seabed, their primary laboratory being the South China Sea. However, such a process does not come without its hazards and fatal consequences, ranging from the destruction of the flora and fauna, the general environment, and—the greatest hazard of all—the cost of human life. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (hereinafter ‘UNCLOS’), being an important international legal regime and instrument, has assigned damage control during the exploration of methane hydrates, as being the responsibilities and liability of individual sovereign states and corporations. China adopted the Deep Seabed Mining Law (hereinafter the DSM Law) on 26 February 2016, which came into force on the 1 of May 2016; a regulation providing the legal framework also for the Chinese government’s role in methane hydrate exploratory activities. This article examines the role of the DSM Law and its provisions, as well as several international documents intended to prevent transboundary environmental harm from arising, as a result of offshore methane hydrate extraction. Despite the obvious risk of harm to the environment, the DSM Law has made great strides in regulating exploratory activities so as to meet the criteria of the UNCLOS. However, this article argues that neither the UNCLOS nor the DSM Law are adequately prepared to address transboundary harm triggered by the exploitation of offshore methane hydrates. In particular, the technology of such extraction is still at an experimental stage, and potential risks remain uncertain—and even untraceable—for cross-jurisdictional claims. The article intends to seek available legal instruments or models, to overhaul the incapacity within the current governing framework, and offers suggestions supporting national and international legislative efforts towards protecting the environment during methane hydrate extraction.

Legal framework for improvement of agroecology by cultivating jerusalem artichoke

2020 ◽  
pp. 59-66
Author(s):  
Mykhailo Kosmii ◽  
Vasyl. Kasiianchuk ◽  
Ruslan Zhyrak ◽  
Ivan Krykhovetskyi
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Organic Farming ◽  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Jerusalem Artichoke ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Practical Application ◽  
Scientific Cognition

The purpose of this paper is to analyze and research the legal mechanisms which make it possible to improve agroecology through the organization of cultivation of Jerusalem artichoke.Methodology. The methodology includes comprehensive analysis and generalization of available scientific, theoretical, practical and applied material and development of relevant conclusions and recommendations. During the research, the following methods of scientific cognition were used: dialectical, terminological, historical and legal, logical and normative, systemic and structural, functional, normative and dogmatic, generalization methods. Results. The process of analysis and research highlighted the possibilities of cultivating Jerusalem artichoke for improving agroecology, namely improving the ecological state of the atmosphere air and soil, preparing them for organic farming. The article contains examples of practical application of tubers of Jerusalem artichoke and herbage for the production of therapeutic and prophylactic products, alternative energy and highly efficient building materials. Scientific novelty. The study found that the authors summarized and systematized the levels of legal regulation in the field of using Jerusalem artichoke for improving agroecology, preparing soil for organic farming, in particular: the inter-sectoral level which covers the interaction of agricultural and environmental law in terms of cultivation and use of Jerusalem artichoke; the level of integrated environmental and legal regulation; level of individual resource (floristic) legal regulation; the level of environmental protection (anthropoprotection) legislation.Practical importance. The results of the study can be used in law-making and environmental protection activities related to issues of cultivating and using the Jerusalem artichoke as a means of improving agroecology.

scholarly journals Formation of a Low-Density Liquid Phase during the Dissociation of Gas Hydrates in Confined Environments

Nanomaterials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 590
Author(s):  
Lihua Wan ◽  
Xiaoya Zang ◽  
Juan Fu ◽  
Xuebing Zhou ◽  
Jingsheng Lu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Methane Hydrate ◽  
Phase State ◽  
Solid Phase ◽  
Potential Method ◽  
Methane Hydrates ◽  
Low Density ◽  
Hydrate Dissociation ◽  
State Of Water ◽  
Confined Environment

The large amounts of natural gas in a dense solid phase stored in the confined environment of porous materials have become a new, potential method for storing and transporting natural gas. However, there is no experimental evidence to accurately determine the phase state of water during nanoscale gas hydrate dissociation. The results on the dissociation behavior of methane hydrates confined in a nanosilica gel and the contained water phase state during hydrate dissociation at temperatures below the ice point and under atmospheric pressure are presented. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) were used to trace the dissociation of confined methane hydrate synthesized from pore water confined inside the nanosilica gel. The characterization of the confined methane hydrate was also analyzed by PXRD. It was found that the confined methane hydrates dissociated into ultra viscous low-density liquid water (LDL) and methane gas. The results showed that the mechanism of confined methane hydrate dissociation at temperatures below the ice point depended on the phase state of water during hydrate dissociation.

scholarly journals The instruments for combating shadow economy in the Russian Federation

2021 ◽  
pp. 22-32
Author(s):  
Eka Ermakova
Keyword(s):  
Russian Federation ◽  
Shadow Economy ◽  
Practical Experience ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Scientific Methods ◽  
Research Systems ◽  
Analysis And Synthesis ◽  
Effective System ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
The Russian Federation

This article substantiates the need for the development and application of the additional instruments for combating shadow economy in the Russian Federation. The object of this research is the measures for combating shadow economy, while the subject is the related punitive and preventive instruments. The research methodology employs the general scientific methods (scientific abstraction, unity of historical and logical, analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, comparison and analogy); systemic and comprehensive approach; official statistical data, normative legal acts, works of the leading researchers dedicated to the problems of expansion of shadow economy, computer-based legal research systems Garant and ConsultantPlus. The study of the normative legal framework and scientific writings of the leading scholars, as well as the analysis of practical experience of the Russian Federation in combating shadow economy allowed making the following conclusions: the effective system of combating shadow economic processes should be built on all levels of governance: micro, meso and macro; at the same time, each of these levels should be able to apply both punitive and preventive instruments that encourage the actors to engage in legal activity. In recent years, Russia largely implements preventive methods for combating shadow economy. However, the rate of shadow economy in the country remains high (33% of GDP), which thwarts the economic development.

scholarly journals Trade Unions’ Rights, Work Councils’ Functions and the Legal Framework for Governing European Corporations: a Spanish Perspective

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-31
Author(s):  
Juan Pablo Landa
Keyword(s):  
Trade Unions ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Collective Agreements ◽  
Effective System ◽  
Toma De Decisiones ◽  
European Regulations ◽  
Analytical Research ◽  
Double Channel

This paper provides analytical research about changing legislation on the functions of work councils and trade unions in participating in the decision making process at firm level in European countries with systems of double channel based models of representation (like Spain, France or Germany). The paper tests European regulations on the involvement of workers in management decisions, in connection with national rulings passed in some European countries, especially during the financial crisis. The paper will aim at responding the following key questions: What kind of complementarity is to be statutorily built between the functions of work councils and collective agreements in order to guarantee workers’ participation in the governance of corporations? Is codetermination a more effective system than collective bargaining to build on new forms of corporate governance in a transnational context? El presente artículo ofrece una investigación analítica de la cambiante legislación sobre las funciones de los comités de empresa y de los sindicatos para participar en los procesos de toma de decisiones en el seno de la empresa, en países europeos con sistemas basados en la doble representación, como España, Francia y Alemania. El artículo pone a prueba la capacidad de las regulaciones para implicar a los trabajadores en decisiones administrativas, en relación con legislaciones nacionales aprobadas en algunos países, especialmente durante la crisis financiera. El artículo se propone responder a las siguientes preguntas claves: ¿Qué tipo de complementariedad estatutaria debería construirse entre las funciones de los comités de empresa y los acuerdos colectivos para garantizar la participación de los trabajadores en el gobierno de las empresas? ¿Es acaso la codeterminación un sistema más efectivo que la negociación colectiva para construir nuevas formas de gobernanza corporativa en un contexto trasnacional?

scholarly journals Životna sredina - opasnosti i pravna zaštita / Human Environment ‒ Risks and Legal Protection

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 48
Author(s):  
Ilija Babić
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Legal Protection ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Ozone Layer ◽  
Montreal Protocol ◽  
Vienna Convention ◽  
The Sun ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Human Environment

The most relevant factors that affect climate are astronomic cycles ant their effects on planet Earth and Earth’s orbit around the Sun. They have impact on the occurrence of glacial and interglacial periods at generally 100.000-year frequencies, which were affected by orbital shape variations and effects of greenhouse gases.The youngest geological epoch of the geological history of Earth is Holocene (started with warming) that began approximately 11.000 years BP. In that epoch, the shape of Earth’s orbit around the Sun was nearly circular, close to a perfect circle, and the seasonal contrast was less severe, due to decreased tilt of Earth’s axis from the plane of its orbit around the Sun. However, most scientists are arguing that the causes of rapid climate change are rooted in human activity, and not in its internal orbital variations. The main causes of global warming are increased level of carbon dioxide, but also of methane and chlorofluorocarbons in the atmosphere. These gases are responsible for the greenhouse effect, ozone layer depletion in stratosphere and rapid global warming. In order to set up the legal framework of environmental protection, the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment has adopted Stockholm Declaration in June 16, 1972. About twenty industrial states have ratified in 1987 the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, which has undergone many revisions by London Convention (1990), Copenhagen Accord (1992), Vienna Convention (1995), Kyoto Protocol (1997) and the Paris Agreement ‒ an international universal agreement on climate adopted at the 2015 Paris Climate Conference (COP21). Environmental protection in the European Union is provided for by its primary and secondary law, and the most EU environmental regulations were implemented in the Serbian legislation.

scholarly journals CONCEPTUAL DIRECTIONS IN ORGANIZATION OF MEDICAL ASSISTANCE FOR CHILDREN IN THE CONDITIONS OF EDUCATION

2020 ◽  
Vol 73 (6) ◽  
pp. 1124-1128
Author(s):  
Georgii M. Danylenko ◽  
Tetiana V. Peresypkina ◽  
Antonina I. Butenko ◽  
Anna M. Peresypkina ◽  
Halyna I. Holubnycha ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Status ◽  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
School Health ◽  
Healthy Lifestyle ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Medical Support ◽  
Medical Sector ◽  
Effective System

The aim of this work is: to define the Conceptual model of medical provision of children in educational institutions in modern conditions. Materials and methods: analysis of data from a longitudinal study of children’s health; questionnaire of parents, teachers, heads of educational institutions on the volume of medical support for students; questioning students’ lifestyle and social determinants of health. Results: According to the study has determined the medical and social determinants which negative affect on health status of school age childrens; detected the most appropriate types of of school health services which based on the parents, medical and teachers opinion. The important also is monitoring of health status of children for develop of prevent measure for improove health status and forming of healthy lifestyle behavioral. Problematic issues to be addressed include: improving the legal framework on the competences and volumes of health care for pupils in educational institutions; material equipment; setting up a system for monitoring and analyzing the health status of students and educational groups, identifying health risk factors; establishing a continuous multimodal health-oriented system of student-oriented youth behavior. Conclusions: The health status of students and the level of health-oriented behavior, the reform of the medical sector require introduction of an effective system of medical support for students of organized groups, improving the system of preventive care for students, parents, which is presented in the Conceptual model.

Microbe-Worm Symbiosis Stabilizes Methane Hydrates in Deep Marine Environments

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tianyi Hua ◽  
Maisha Ahmad ◽  
Tenzin Choezin ◽  
Ryan Hartman
Keyword(s):  
Methane Hydrate ◽  
Temperature Fluctuations ◽  
Methane Hydrates ◽  
Natural Ecosystem ◽  
Ocean Temperature ◽  
Marine Environments ◽  
Balance Equations ◽  
Temperature Records ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Hydrate Stability

Abstract Our Planet has a natural ecosystem comprised of living organisms and methane hydrates in deep marine environments. This ecosystem was constructed in the present work to examine the influence that subtle temperature fluctuations could have on the dynamic stability of the hydrate deposits. The coupled mass and energy balance equations that describe the microbial bioreactions, their consumption by feather duster worms, and methane hydrate dissociation confirm that the bioreaction kinetics are dominated by endothermic methanogenic metabolism that stabilizes methane hydrates with a fragile tolerance to 0.001K temperature increases. The feather duster worms also stabilize the hydrates via their selective consumption of methanotrophs that could otherwise overtake the system by their exothermic metabolism. Critical ocean temperature limits exist, beyond which hydrate dissociations would cause underwater eruptions of methane into the sea. Historical ocean temperature records and gas hydrate inventory estimates combined with our model suggests that hydrate deposits as deep as 560-meters below sea level could already be at risk, whereas the methane hydrate stability zone will retreat deeper as ocean temperatures rise. Slowing its retreat could avoid the massive release of greenhouse gas.

The Legal Challenge of Arms Control in Space

2020 ◽  
pp. 181-201
Author(s):  
Jinyuan Su
Keyword(s):  
Research And Development ◽  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Arms Control ◽  
Space Environment ◽  
The Core ◽  
Legal Challenge ◽  
Core Issue ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Right ◽  
Space Security

The research and development, testing, production, storage, and deployment of antisatellite weapons (ASATs) is limited directly by the law of space arms control and indirectly by the law of environmental protection. The former only prohibits the testing and deployment of ASATs in a partial manner, with conventional space-based ASATs and ground-based ASATs unaddressed. The latter may constrain the right to test and use ASATs, by limiting their exterior impact on the environment and/or their potential interference with others’ activities. While the law of environmental protection is complementary to the law of space arms control in protecting the space environment from damage caused by military activities, to address the core issue of space security lies in the strengthening of space arms control itself.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document