International Trade Regulation and the Mitigation of Climate Change: World Trade Forum

Half-title......Page 3
Title......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Contents......Page 7
Contributors......Page 10
Figures......Page 12
Tables......Page 13
Abbreviations......Page 14
Preface......Page 19
Part I: Climate change mitigation: scientific, political and international and trade law perspectives......Page 21
Greenhouse gas concentrations in the long-term perspective......Page 23
The challenge of the twenty-first century......Page 24
Bibliography......Page 30
B. Provisions of the UNFCCC and its Kyoto Protocol relevant to trade......Page 33
C. Relationship between actions to tackle climate change and trade......Page 36
D. The future of the international climate regime......Page 37
I. Introduction......Page 41
A. The legacy of territoriality......Page 42
B. Limits and failures of territoriality......Page 45
C. Traditional remedies......Page 46
A. From transboundary harm to common goods......Page 48
B. From obligations erga omnes to common concerns......Page 49
C. From international to domestic concerns abroad......Page 50
D. The impact of climate change......Page 51
B. Emerging duties and obligations of states......Page 53
C. Relationship to common heritage of mankind......Page 54
D. Main content and message......Page 58
A. Liability......Page 59
C. Precaution......Page 60
D. Obligations erga omnes and graduation......Page 61
VI. Minimal standards set out in the Climate Change Convention......Page 63
VII. Implications of, and on, international trade regulation......Page 64
Bibliography......Page 66
I. Introduction......Page 68
II. Kyoto and the WTO......Page 70
A. Kyoto Protocol overview......Page 71
B. Carbon trading......Page 73
C. Trade restrictions on imports from non-Kyoto participating countries......Page 79
D. Carbon tax......Page 80
E. Applying cap-and-trade regulatory requirements to foreign producers......Page 89
F. Countervailing carbon ‘delinquents’: the Stiglitz proposal......Page 93
G. The EC carbon leakage proposal......Page 96
H. The Clean Development Mechanism......Page 97
i. Non-tax measures......Page 100
ii. Tax measures......Page 102
i. Tariff barriers......Page 103
ii. Non-tariff barriers......Page 106
IV. Energy efficiency......Page 110
V. Conclusion......Page 112
Part II: Climate change mitigation and trade in goods......Page 115
I. Introduction......Page 117
II. What is a PPM?......Page 122
III. PPMs and comparative advantage......Page 125
IV. PPMs, externalities, and ‘coercion’......Page 131
V. Three fragments of legal analysis......Page 138
Fragment (1): a hypothetical case......Page 139
Fragment (2): the relevance of regulatory purpose......Page 140
Fragment (3): avoiding border tax issues......Page 142
VI. Conclusion......Page 143
I. Rebel without a cause?......Page 144
A. Unilateral approach to externalities......Page 145
B. Coercive PPMs......Page 146
III. Economic concerns: PPMs and comparative advantage......Page 147
IV. Accommodation of PPMs under WTO law......Page 148
V. Conventional conclusion......Page 149
I. Introduction......Page 151
1. Neutrality of standards and standardisation organisations......Page 152
2. Accounting considerations......Page 153
3. Developing country considerations......Page 154
4. Efficacy, coherence and the legitimacy of labelling standards......Page 155
5. Sovereignty concerns......Page 156
A. The PPM issue......Page 157
B. Mandatory carbon labelling schemes......Page 161
1. Scope of the Code......Page 163
2. Private standards and the Code......Page 168
4. Conformity assessment procedures......Page 169
IV. Conclusion......Page 170
Part III: Trade in renewable energy sources......Page 173
Introduction......Page 175
A. Misconceptions about the definition of subsidy......Page 176
1. Article 1.1 lit (a) of the ASCM: financial contribution, or income or price support......Page 177
2. Is the determination of ‘benefit’ complex in the world of renewables?......Page 181
1. Straightforward subsidies......Page 183
2. Are tax exemptions on the basis of environmental policies subsidies?......Page 185
3. Indirect subsidies (downstream or upstream subsidies)......Page 187
4. Subsidisation through regulatory means: is this captured by the ASCM?......Page 189
1. Inconsistency in biofuels’ classification and implications for subsidy disciplines......Page 192
2. Are green box opportunities ‘real’ for biofuel production subsidies?......Page 194
D. Electricity trade and relevant subsidy disciplines......Page 197
E. Are RE subsidies ‘specific’?......Page 199
F. Do RE subsidies cause ‘adverse effects’?......Page 202
G. Prospects for future WTO challenges against RE subsidies......Page 205
H. Suggestions on the way forward......Page 208
Conclusions......Page 212
9 The WTO and climate change ‘incentives’......Page 213
Conclusion......Page 216
Introduction......Page 217
Logistical framework for certification......Page 219
National governments and regional groupings......Page 220
Companies......Page 225
International initiatives......Page 226
Issues with measurable indicators......Page 227
Evaluating macro-level effects......Page 228
Greenhouse gas impacts......Page 229
Cost of certification and conformity assessment......Page 230
WTO coverage of measures based on life cycle analysis......Page 231
Transparency......Page 233
The ‘like’ products issue......Page 234
‘Less favourable treatment’......Page 238
The way ahead......Page 244
Conclusions......Page 245
Part IV: Climate change mitigation and trade in services......Page 249
Introductory remarks......Page 251
I. GATS and financial services......Page 254
II. RECs: definition, scope, context, mechanics......Page 259
III. Trade in RECs and the supply of financial services......Page 267
IV. Conclusion......Page 273
Bibliography......Page 274
Setting the scene......Page 279
Classification......Page 282
Liberalisation of trade in EGS and its impact on climate change mitigation......Page 287
Climate change approach......Page 289
Bibliography......Page 292
Introduction......Page 294
Patterns of current commitments and Doha Round offers......Page 295
Economic drive in some sectors …......Page 297
Why not in environmental services?......Page 298
Scope for new initiatives?......Page 299
Bibliography......Page 300
Part V: Climate change and technology transfer, investment and government procurement: legal issues......Page 301
Introduction......Page 303
A. Renewed commitment for climate-friendly technology transfer......Page 304
1. Setting up a framework for combating climate change: the UNFCCC......Page 306
2. A step further: the Kyoto Protocol of 11 December 1997......Page 311
C. Relationship between the UNFCCC and the WTO......Page 313
D. Conclusion......Page 316
Bibliography......Page 317
Introduction......Page 318
A. Understanding the Clean Development Mechanism......Page 319
1. History and structure......Page 321
2. Reference to the GATT......Page 322
(a) ‘Investment measures’......Page 323
4. One example of a TRIM: local content requirement......Page 324
2. The relationship between the UNFCCC and the WTO......Page 325
3. Article XX of the GATT as a gateway for environmental concerns......Page 326
4. The Doha Round......Page 327
(a) The notion of conflict in public international law......Page 328
(b) WTO panels on conflicts within the WTO regime......Page 329
(a) Discrimination against foreign investors......Page 330
(b) Performance requirements in CDM regulations......Page 331
(c) Unilateral CDM Projects......Page 332
(a) Breach of the TRIMS......Page 333
(b) Excused under Article XX of the GATT?......Page 334
(c) Conflict between CDM and the TRIMS?......Page 336
E. Potential synergies between international environmental law and international trade law......Page 337
F. Conclusion......Page 338
16 Balancing investors’ interests and global policy objectives in a carbon constrained world: the interface of international economic law with the Clean Development Mechanism......Page 339
1. Introduction......Page 348
2.1 The GPA and the regulation of public procurement......Page 350
2.2 Green procurement and climate change mitigation and the trade effects......Page 351
2.3 Green procurement under Article XXIII of the GPA exceptions......Page 353
3.1 EU law and policy for climate change and green procurement......Page 356
3.2 The EU green electricity procurement and the PPMs debate......Page 360
3.2.1 The ‘like products’ question......Page 361
3.2.2 The PPMs debate......Page 363
3.3.1 Policy preference v. technical legality......Page 367
3.3.2 Green electricity procurement and the general exceptions......Page 368
4. Conclusion......Page 369
18 Procurement and the World Trade Organization: purchase power or pester power?......Page 371
1. ‘Green’ procurement and the principle of sustainable development......Page 373
2.1 WTO suspicion of NPR-PPMs: wrong reasoning, but the right outcome......Page 375
2.2 NPR-PMs in the GPA......Page 376
Compared with the provisions of the TBT......Page 378
Compared with the provisions of the SPS......Page 379
2.4 The experience with NPR-PPMs in the European Community......Page 380
Outokumpu Oy: strict interpretation of the non-discrimination requirement in EC law......Page 381
PreussenElektra: questionable precedent value......Page 382
3. The WTO and the positive harmonisation challenge......Page 384
4. Private labels and their governance......Page 386
Bibliography......Page 387
Part VI: Institutional challenges and the way forward......Page 389
I. Introduction......Page 391
1. The various forms of institutional co-operation......Page 394
2. Participation of IGOs in the WTO dispute settlement process......Page 396
1. The WTO Secretariat and its Director-General......Page 397
2. Participation of NGOs in the WTO dispute settlement process......Page 399
A. The WTO and the UNFCCC: two different dispute settlement systems, but …......Page 401
B. Non-WTO law in the WTO dispute settlement system......Page 403
C. The use in the WTO of international standards developed by other organisations......Page 406
IV. WTO and MEAs: the stakes in the negotiations on the Doha Development Agenda......Page 409
V. Conclusion......Page 412
Publications......Page 413
WTO case law......Page 414
I. Introduction......Page 415
II. Main EGS proposals on the table......Page 417
III. Assessment of current proposals......Page 418
A. The philosophy......Page 421
1. Preparatory work: updating the GATS W/120 classification......Page 423
2. Identifying environmental areas and regulatory goals......Page 424
3. Establishing criteria for the inclusion of relevant services and goods......Page 425
4. Agreeing on modalities for undertaking commitments within a specified environmental area......Page 426
5. Drafting an EGS framework agreement......Page 428
A. EGS and the Kyoto Protocol......Page 431
B. Potential environmental areas......Page 432
C. The example of renewable energy......Page 434
VI. Conclusions......Page 437
Bibliography......Page 438
Index......Page 440