Environmental Regulation in Asia

Abstract

Asian countries have achieved tremendous economic growth over the past few decades, but at the same time, they have suffered severe environmental degradation. To address environmental issues, countries in Asia have introduced new environmental policies and amended existing ones. To deepen understanding of environmental regulations, this chapter examines the regulations by categorizing them as command-and-control, market-based, and voluntary approaches. The strengths and limitations of each type of approach are investigated. When evaluating each type of environmental policy, two economic criteria are used – efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Lastly, the development of each type of regulation in Asia is investigated with a focus on three countries – China, Japan, and Korea.