In-person event

Rare earth elements (REE) are critical raw materials essential for manufacturing wind turbines, solar panels, and electric vehicles. As nations strive to meet net-zero emission targets under the Paris Agreement, the global demand for REE is expected to surge in the green energy transition. However, rare earth mining and processing often result in significant and sometimes irreversible harm to the ecosystem.

China, the global leader in REE extraction and production, has dominated the industry for decades, largely on the strength of historically unregulated mining practices. This seminar will explore the environmental damage of REE extraction and production in China and examine the regulatory challenges in the implementation of permit control, environmental impact assessment, and eco-environmental remediation. By engaging with case studies involving courts, agencies and procuratorates as well as the central and local governments, we will gain a better understanding of the real-world complexity and the Chinese approach to pollution prevention and environmental remediation.

About the speaker

Yuhong Zhao is an associate professor from the Chinese University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law. She teaches Chinese Civil Law and Chinese Environmental Law on both the LLB and the LLM programmes. Her research interests are Chinese environmental law, climate law and policy, and comparative environmental law. She is the author of Chinese Environmental Law (Cambridge University Press, 2021) and has published extensively with prestigious academic law journals on issues of climate change, environmental enforcement, environmental impact assessment, environmental dispute resolution, land contamination, and biodiversity conservation.

Wedneday 5 March

Time: 1-2pm

Venue: Room TBC, Level 4, New Law Building, Eastern Avenue, University of Sydney, Camperdown campus

CPD Points: 1

This event is proudly co-presented by the Centre for Asian and Pacific Law at the University of Sydney Law School, and The China Studies Centre at the University of Sydney.