中國大陸氣候變化訴訟的範圍及司法進路

The Scope and Judicial Pathways on Climate Change Litigation in China Mainland

長期以來，氣候變化問題作為國際社會共同面臨的環境挑戰，不論是在國際還是在國內的應對氣候變化法律治理中，氣候司法都是一個值得重點關注的問題。在「碳中和」、「碳達峰」等新理念推進之下，中國大陸的氣候變化訴訟的範圍將會逐漸擴大，與之相關的碳排放權交易、碳匯、碳金融、氣候侵權案和氣候行政訴訟等案件也將進入司法視野，氣候變化訴訟司法體系亟待建立。國際層面的氣候變化訴訟以政府管理失職下的行政訴訟為主，以大型碳排放巨頭企業為被告的民事訴訟為輔，而中國大陸的氣候變化司法起步稍晚，目前形成了私法視域下契約糾紛、環境侵權糾紛、民事公益訴訟為主導，氣候變化行政私益訴訟和公益訴訟為輔的多種類型潛在並存的氣候司法路徑。

For a long period of time, climate change has been acknowledged as a global environmental challenge confronting the international community, sparking intense discussions on relevant legal issues. Whether within the framework of international or domestic legal governance, the subject of climate change litigation demands special consideration. As emerging concepts like“carbon neutrality”and“emission peaking”gain traction, the scope of climate change litigation in China mainland is poised to broaden, encompassing aspects such as carbon emissions trading, carbon sinks, carbon finance, and cases related to climate infringement. Administrative litigation, among other case types, is also anticipated to enter the judicial arena, necessitating the urgent establishment of a judicial framework for climate change litigation. Notably, international climate change litigation primarily revolves around administrative litigation focused on government negligence, complemented by civil litigation targeting carbon emission behemoths. In contrast, China mainland, entering the arena later, has adopted a distinctly different approach, featuring a range of potentially coexisting climate justice models. These models prioritize contract disputes, environmental tort disputes, and civil public interest litigation under the purview of private law. This approach is complemented by climate change private administrative litigation and public administrative litigation.