The Legality and Desirability of Nationalizing Wind and Sunlight

Abstract

The “nationalization” of climate resources (wind and solar energy) by the Heilongjiang provincial government sparked a public furor over the attempted government seizure over the public property of wind and sunlight. This Article argues that the opposition reflects a misconception of public property. Both under Chinese law and from a normative perspective, public property should only means property and resources that are owned by the state. Public free access is merely a form of allocation that should be changed upon alterations in use pattern arising from technological advancement and social-economic changes. The “nationalization” of climate resources is a jurisprudentially legitimate step to manage climate resources utilization in the face of increased negative externalities and scarcity of the resources.

黑龍江省於2012年6月14日頒布《黑龍江省氣候資源探測和保護條例》（以下簡稱《條例》），這是我國首個規範氣候資源利用的地方法規。該《條例》第3條規定，本《條例》所稱的氣候資源，是指能為人類活動所利用的風力風能、太陽能、降水和大氣成分等構成氣候環境的自然資源。第7條規定，氣候資源為國家所有。從事氣候資源探測活動，應當經省氣象主管機構批准。黑龍江省氣象局應急與減災處處長馬旭清指出，黑龍江省正處於新能源大發展階段，氣候資源探測方面比較混亂，企業跑馬圈地，自主進行探測的現象嚴重。 ①《條例》明確規範氣候資源的歸屬權，建立了氣候資源探測審批制度，可有效規範企業的探測行為。 ②