…Occasionally [in the US], people go to jail for environmental crimes, but that is relatively rare. More commonly, civil penalties and fines are involved…In the EU, for example, environmental regulation is one of the most important and far-reaching aspects of their legislation. Penalties vary by country, but jail terms and substantial fines are common and often more severe than in the US. But, by far the most severe is China…Chinese authorities have recently given courts the authority to hand down the death penalty for serious cases of pollution. This is apparently in response to public outrage over the despoliation of the environment…It’s difficult to say what impact the new penalties will have, but it certainly does indicate that the government is taking the environmental concerns of its citizens seriously.