On April 27, 2021, the 23th lecture of "Weibo Law Lecture Hall" and the 34nd session of Luojia Environmental Law Saloon, was held at the Law School. This lecture was given by Ding Zunian, Member of the Standing Committee of the Zhejiang Provincial People's Congress and Chairman of the Legal Affairs Committee, and topic is “Several Issues of Local Environmental Legislation”.

The lecture was hosted by Prof. Qin Qianhong of Wuhan University Law School, with the participation of Prof. Qin Tianbao, Director of the Institute of Environmental Law, Prof. Chen Haisong, Associate Professor Luo Ji and Associate Professor Li Guangbing.

Prof. Qin Qianhong gave a brief introduction to Director Ding's work and research experience, and expressed his welcome and appreciation for his return. At the beginning of the lecture, Director Ding recalled his memorable experience as a student at WHU. He argued that the growth of the Institute of Environmental Law is important for the promotion of the rule of law in China.

Director Ding then explored the issue of the system of local environmental legislation. He analysed the characteristics of comprehensive local environmental protection legislation, argued that the study of local environmental legislation needs to clarify the basic concepts of the legislative system, and listed the main issues that can be regulated as comprehensive local legislation.

Director Ding then talked about the function of local environmental legislation. He pointed out that legislation, as an instrument of national governance, is characterised by its democratic and uniform nature as well as its compulsory nature. Local environmental legislation should not only play a good role in implementing national laws and regulations, but also work on early and autonomous legislation.

Director Ding then discussed the space and competence of local environmental legislation. He argued that under the existing configuration of legislative powers, the space and competence of local legislation is not clear enough and is also too narrow, which affects the effective performance of the role of local legislation. He proposed that the boundaries of exclusive national legislation should be further clarified and scientized, while national legislation in areas other than exclusive legislation should take full account of the needs of local adaptation, and suggested the establishment of an authorisation system for local legislation.

Finally, Director Ding discussed the regional synergy of local environmental legislation. He pointed out that from a legal perspective, integrated regional development is positioned as a holistic approach to institutional mechanisms and behaviours between administrative regions within a region. Further, Director Ding shared his views on topics like regional planning, regional agreements, regional structures, and so on.

During the discussion session, Prof. Qin said that local environmental legislation involves the distribution and exercise of legislative power between the central and local levels, and that at its core is a constitutional issue. Prof. Chen argued that the issue of local legislation could also be considered in the context of modern national governance. In the process of building a modern environmental governance system, it is crucial that local legislation and decision-making powers are delegated by the People's Congress.

Afterwards, Director Ding communicated with the students and faculty in attendance on commissioning of local legislation and digital reform, and the synergy of central and local legislative powers. At the end of the lecture, Prof. Qin presented Director Ding with a commemorative certificate and the event ended successfully.

Edited by Yuan Yuhang & Wu Liuqing