TY - JOUR
T1 - Unilateral Trade-related Climate Change Measures
AU - Leal-Arcas, Rafael
N1 - Funding Information:
and Practice of Ec, External Trade Law and Policy (Cameron May, 2008). I am very grateful to Andrew Filis-Yelaghotis for his research assistance. 1) On the fragmentation of international law, see the work of the International Law Commission, 58th session, Final Report of the study group on fragmentation, UN Doc. A/CN.4/L.682, and the conclusions of the study group on fragmentation, UN Doc. A/CN.4/L.702, available at http:// untreaty.un.org/ilc/guide/1_9.htm. On the specific case of international trade law, see also Leal-Arcas, R. “The Fragmentation of International Trade Law: Is Now the Time for Variable Geometry?” The Journal of World Investment and Trade, Vol. 12, No. 2, 2011, pp. 145-195. 2) Cosbey, A. “Border Carbon Adjustment”, International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2008; Persson, S. “Practical Aspects of Border Carbon Adjustment Measures: Using a Trade Facilitation Perspective to Assess Trade Costs”, International Center for Trade and Sustainable Development, Issue Paper 13, November 2010. 3) WT/DS419. 4) See generally Firger, D. and Gerrard, M. “Climate Change and the WTO: Expected Battleground, Surprising Battles,” Daily Environment Report-BNA, Vol. 2011, No. 133, 12 July 2011; Henschke, L. “Going it alone on climate change. A new challenge to WTO subsidies disciplines: Are subsidies in support of emissions reductions schemes permissible under the WTO,” World Trade Review, 11:1, 27-52, 2012; World Trade Organization, Trade and Climate Change: A Report by the United Nations Environment Program and the World Trade Organization, Geneva: WTO, 2009, pp. 88-129; Charnovitz, S. “Trade and Climate: Potential Conflicts and Synergies” in Aldy, J. et al., Beyond Kyoto: Advancing the International Effort against Climate Change, Pew Center on Global Climate Change, 2003, at 141; Zeller, T. and Bradsher, K. “China’s Push into Wind Worries U.S. Industry,” The New York Times, 15 December 2010.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2012 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - Climate change mitigation has become one of the most relevant topics today, and it will continue for years to come. It is a concern that has implications in economics, law, science, human rights, technology, international relations and ethics, to name but a few fields of knowledge. Climate change is a global problem that knows no geographical barriers. International law is not well equipped to face the challenges of climate change. Global climate is an indivisible public good. International law currently faces the challenge of fragmentation and the need to bring greater coherence to a fragmented system in combating climate change. The aim of this article is to explain the trade implications of climate change mitigation policies by analyzing a couple of areas where the international regimes for trade and climate change mitigation/energy may potentially clash: 1) border carbon adjustments and 2) applying subsidies and similar measures in order to encourage environmentally-friendly technologies. After the introduction, Section 2 provides an analysis on the link between the legal regimes of international trade and climate change. Section 3 compares both regimes and Section 4 offers an overview of unilateral trade-related climate change measures. Section 5 examines the main WTO provisions on subsidies and analyzes the WTO cases on subsidies for renewable energy. Section 6 focuses on the inclusion of aviation in the EU Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) and the potential expansion of the EU ETS to the shipping industry. Section 7 concludes the article.
AB - Climate change mitigation has become one of the most relevant topics today, and it will continue for years to come. It is a concern that has implications in economics, law, science, human rights, technology, international relations and ethics, to name but a few fields of knowledge. Climate change is a global problem that knows no geographical barriers. International law is not well equipped to face the challenges of climate change. Global climate is an indivisible public good. International law currently faces the challenge of fragmentation and the need to bring greater coherence to a fragmented system in combating climate change. The aim of this article is to explain the trade implications of climate change mitigation policies by analyzing a couple of areas where the international regimes for trade and climate change mitigation/energy may potentially clash: 1) border carbon adjustments and 2) applying subsidies and similar measures in order to encourage environmentally-friendly technologies. After the introduction, Section 2 provides an analysis on the link between the legal regimes of international trade and climate change. Section 3 compares both regimes and Section 4 offers an overview of unilateral trade-related climate change measures. Section 5 examines the main WTO provisions on subsidies and analyzes the WTO cases on subsidies for renewable energy. Section 6 focuses on the inclusion of aviation in the EU Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) and the potential expansion of the EU ETS to the shipping industry. Section 7 concludes the article.
KW - EU emissions trading scheme
KW - WTO subsidies for renewable energy
KW - aviation
KW - energy and climate change
KW - shipping
KW - trade and climate change
KW - trade and energy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84992408293&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1163/22119000-01306001
DO - 10.1163/22119000-01306001
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84992408293
SN - 1660-7112
VL - 13
SP - 875
EP - 927
JO - Journal of World Investment and Trade
JF - Journal of World Investment and Trade
IS - 6
ER -