In China, the year 2021 witnessed the further evolution of environmental protection and development of legislation and rulemaking. This included revision of the Law on the Prevention and Control of Noise Pollution and adoption of the Wetland Protection Law, the Regulations on Administration of Pollutant Discharge Permits, Measures for Administration of Carbon Emissions Trading, judicial interpretations on environmental injunctive orders, and some departmental rules. This Comment summarizes some of the year’s major developments.

Recent U.S. presidential administrations have been the apex of what scholars have identified as “the rise of executive-level power, the use of the ‘administrative presidency,’ and the growing democratic deficit.” Indeed, with legislative gridlock in the U.S. Congress that seems to have no end in sight, the use of agencies in the executive branch has been adopted by both political parties as the main vehicle of policymaking. This Comment acknowledges the ongoing regulatory uncertainty in the United States, categorizes it, and explores theoretical frameworks for presidential transitions.

A number of environmental justice screening tools and processes have been developed across the United States in an effort to identify communities experiencing environmental injustice.