Environmental public interest litigation: new roles for civil society organizations in environmental governance in China

ABSTRACT In 2015, the Government of China enacted Environmental Public-Interest Litigation (EPiL) as an amendment to its revised Environmental Protection Law. This policy granted civil organizations standing in court to represent public interests applied to environmental values. Based on a review of EPiL developments since 2015 and a case study focused on soil pollution litigation pursued by a leading environmental non-governmental organization (NGO), this paper analyzes the contemporary dynamics of Chinese environmental governance and strategies through which NGOs are leveraging EPiL to advance policy change. Through critical engagement with the concepts of experimentalist governance, this paper highlights the complex pathways through which empowerment of civil society organizations produced policy shifts. Rather than focusing on information and learning derived from purposive experimentation, this study highlights how entrance of new actors introduced practical knowledge and new values that catalyzed an array of changes in governance arrangements. While the metaphor of experimentation suggests a system that is well understood and subject to controls, we identify substantial indeterminacy and openness in governance.