Application of carbon sink subscription in public interest litigation cases involving damage to forest resources and the environment

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A Luo A first-class illegal logging criminal attached civil public interest litigation case

-- Application of carbon sink subscription in public interest litigation cases involving damage to forest resources and the environment

keyword

• criminal
• Civil public interest litigation attached to criminal cases
• Illegal logging
• Alternative fixes
• Carbon sink subscription

Basic facts of the case

　　One day in July 2021, defendants A Luo X A, A Luo X B, Ji Qi X X, A Luo X X, and Lei X arrived in Baoxing County, Sichuan Province after inviting each other, and cut down and sold one maple tree that was previously discovered to the timber boss Zhang XX, making an illegal profit of 23,200 yuan. The stolen tree stock was identified as 3.43 cubic meters. About a week later, A Luo A and A Luo B went to Baoxing County and cut down a tree of the same species in the same area, and discarded the timber on site because the wood and pattern did not meet the requirements. The stolen tree stock was identified as 2.74 cubic meters. The next day, A Luo A and A Luo B entered the forest farm again to cut down a tree of the same kind and sell it to Zhang, making an illegal profit of 94,100 yuan. The stolen tree stock was identified as 4.14 cubic meters. One day in September 2021, A Luo X A, A Luo X B, and A Luo X C went to Baoxing County to cut down a tree of the same species in the same forest farm and sell it to Zhang Moumou, making an illegal profit of 96,150 yuan. The stolen tree stock was identified as 16.05 cubic meters. One day in May 2021, A Luo Moumou and A Luo Moumou met in the woodland of Tianquan County to cut down a maple tree and sell it to the timber boss Xie Moumou, making an illegal profit of 11,500 yuan. The stolen tree stock was identified as 3.32 cubic meters. One day in July 2021, A Luo Moujia and Lei Lei Moumou went to Hornhe Town, Tianquan County, cut down 2 maple trees and sold them to the timber boss Xie Moumou, making an illegal profit of 12,300 yuan. The stolen tree stock was identified as 4.64 cubic meters. On December 2, 2021, when Ah Luo Moujia was identifying the scene, he escaped by breaking free from the handcuffs while his fellow police officers were unprepared, and on the 9th of the same month, A Luo Moujia voluntarily surrendered. During the trial, on April 6, 2022, the six defendants voluntarily purchased 24,000 kilograms of carbon sinks from Sichuan United Environmental Exchange Co., Ltd. to restore the damaged ecology.

　　On April 19, 2022, the People's Court of Baoxing County, Sichuan Province, rendered the (2022) Chuan 1827 Xingchu No. 3 Criminal Judgment: 1. A Luo X A committed the crime of illegal logging and was sentenced to three years and two months imprisonment and a fine of 25,000 yuan; He was convicted of desertion and sentenced to seven months' imprisonment. It was decided to enforce a fixed-term imprisonment of three years and six months and a fine of 25,000 yuan; 2. A Luo X B committed the crime of stealing trees, and was sentenced to two years imprisonment, suspended for three years, and fined 20,000 yuan; 3. A Luo X C committed the crime of stealing trees, and was sentenced to one year imprisonment, suspended for two years, and fined 15,000 yuan; 4. Lei Lei XX committed the crime of stealing trees and was sentenced to eight months imprisonment, suspended for one year, and fined 10,000 yuan; 5. A lawyer committed the crime of stealing trees, and was sentenced to six months' short-term detention, suspended for 10 months, and fined 10,000 yuan; 6. Even Qi XX committed the crime of stealing trees and was sentenced to a fine of 8,000 yuan; 7. It is prohibited for Luo X A, A Luo X B, Lei X X X, and A X X to engage in forest felling activities during the probation period; 8. Recover 23,200 yuan of joint illegal gains of A Luo X A, A Luo X B, Lei X X , A Luo X X , and even Qi X X ; A Luo X A and A Luo X B jointly obtained 94,100 yuan of illegal gains; A Luo X A, A Luo X B, and A Luo X C jointly obtained 96,150 yuan of illegal gains; A Luo XX A and A Luo XX jointly obtained 11,500 yuan of illegal gains; A Luo XX A and Lei Lei XX jointly obtained 12,300 yuan of illegal gains, which were handed over to the state treasury; 9. The seized tools of the crime are to be disposed of by the seizing organs in accordance with law; 10. Within 15 days of the judgment taking effect, Luo X A, A Luo X B, A Luo X C, Lei X XX, A Luo X X, and even Qi X X are to replant 70 spruce trees in the state-owned forest farm in Baoxing County in accordance with the vegetation restoration plan, with a afforestation survival rate of not less than 90% that year and a three-year preservation rate of not less than 85%; 11. A Luo A and A Luo B jointly and severally compensated Sichuan Jiajinshan Forestry Bureau for the loss of 2,781 yuan for the theft of trees; A Luo A, A Luo B, Evenqi XX, A Tuo, and Lei Lei jointly and severally compensated Sichuan Jiajinshan Forestry Bureau for the loss of 1,386 yuan for the theft of trees; A Luo X A, A Luo X B, A Luo X C jointly and severally compensated Sichuan Province Jiajinshan Forestry Bureau for the loss of 6,498 yuan for the theft of trees; A Luo and A Luo jointly and severally compensated 1,701 yuan for the theft of trees in a village A in Hornhe Town, Tianquan County; A Luo and Lei Lei jointly and severally compensated 2,385 yuan for the economic loss of the theft of trees in a village B in Hornhe Town, Tianquan County (fulfilled); 12. Within 10 days of the judgment taking effect, Luo X A, A Luo X B, A Luo X C, Lei Lei X X, A Luo X X, and even Qi X X are to publicly apologize in the media at the municipal level or above. After the judgment was pronounced, there was no appeal or counter-appeal, and the judgment had taken legal effect.

Reasons for the Adjudication

　　The effective judgment of the court held that forest resources are an important part of natural resources, and forests play a huge role as carbon sinks for carbon absorption and storage, and play an important role in maintaining global ecological security and responding to global climate change. In pursuit of economic interests, Luo A, Luo B, Luo C, Lei Lei, A, and Evenqi illegally cut down forests, which seriously damaged forest resources. At the same time, the stolen trees were all located in Baoxing County and Tianquan County within the scope of the Giant Panda National Park, and the six defendants' acts of illegal logging seriously damaged the authenticity, integrity and systematization of the natural ecosystem, and the six defendants should not only bear the corresponding criminal liability, but also bear the civil liability for compensation and restoration of the damage caused to the ecological resources.

　　Carbon sequestration refers to the process, activity or mechanism of using plant photosynthesis to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and fix it in plants and soil through measures such as afforestation, forest management, and vegetation restoration, thereby reducing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Although the plaintiff in the attached civil public interest litigation in this case has filed a lawsuit to order six people including A Luo to replant 70 spruce saplings, the carbon sequestration capacity of the young forest is not as strong as that of the middle-aged forest, and the carbon storage capacity needs to be superimposed. The traditional "replanting and regreening" restoration method, whether in situ replanting or off-site replanting, will have a time lag between damage and completion, and within this time gap, the carbon dioxide that should have been absorbed by the damaged trees may not be absorbed. The carbon sink subscription funds of the six defendants will be used for ecological environmental protection to achieve the purpose of alternative restoration of the ecological environment. The purchased "carbon sinks" will achieve a larger greenhouse gas balance or even reduce emissions, so that they can be better used to offset the carbon emissions of ecologically damaged land. Therefore, the six defendants' acts were advocated and encouraged. The six defendants' voluntary purchase of "carbon sinks" after the case to make up for the losses caused by the loss of service functions during the period between the damage to the ecological environment and the completion of the restoration is not only a voluntary performance of the specific actions they should undertake to restore the damaged ecology, but also a concrete manifestation of their sincere repentance and admission of guilt and acceptance of punishment.

Summary of the trial

　　Where the defendant in a criminal case of destroying forest resources voluntarily subscribes to forestry carbon sinks to perform his or her liability for compensation for ecological and environmental damages, the people's court may make a judgment in accordance with law that the defendant shall purchase forestry carbon sinks and cancel them in the carbon market.

Associate indexes

　　Article 345, paragraph 1, of the People's Republic of China Penal Code

　　Article 1235, paragraph 1 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China

　　First instance: Sichuan Baoxing County People's Court (2022) Chuan 1827 Xingchu No. 5 (April 19, 2022)

(ESEE)

Source: People's Court Case Database