Mr. Xiang Liu is a prominent environmental lawyer and Lead of Litigation in the Center for Legal Assistance to Pollution Victims, which has pioneered environmental tort and public interest litigation in China. In his presentation, Mr. Liu focused on the possibility of developing climate change litigation based on air pollution law. First, he reviewed some of the successful air pollution public interest litigation cases brought in China in recent years, highlighting their climate co-benefits. Secondly, he highlighted provisions in the Air Pollution Law targeting coal imports, the quality of coal and coal-burning installations and consumption, which could be used to design climate lawsuits. He further argued that such lawsuits would likely ask different remedies, focusing less on compensation and more on action remedies. In his interview, he elaborated on the contribution made by public interest litigation to the development of environmental rule of law in China. In spite of the practical challenges to gather evidence, establish causality and determine appropriate remedies, he shared his optimism that climate litigation will further promote a positive development of China’s legal system.
刘湘律师是著名的环境律师，也是中国污染受害者法律援助中心的诉讼负责人，该中心开创了中国环境侵权和公益诉讼的先河。在会议上，刘翔律师重点介绍了基于空气污染法开展气候变化诉讼的可能性。首先，他回顾了近年来一系列成功的空气污染公益诉讼案例，并重点介绍了这些案件在气候方面的共同利益。其次，他介绍了大气污染法中针对煤炭进口、煤炭质量、燃煤安装和消费等方面的规定，并认为这些规定可以用来设计气候诉讼。他还认为，这种诉讼可能会提出不同的救济要求，不注重赔偿但更注重行动救济。在采访中，他阐述了公益诉讼对中国环境法治发展的贡献。尽管环境公益诉讼在收集证据、确定因果关系和确定适当的救济措施等方面存在实际挑战，但他同样乐观地认为，气候诉讼将进一步推动中国法律制度的积极发展。