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Mobilising trade policy for climate action under the Paris agreement: options for the European Union
[working paper]
Corporate Editor
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik -SWP- Deutsches Institut für Internationale Politik und Sicherheit
Abstract The European Union (EU) has been advocating climate policy ambitions from the very beginning of the international climate regime. Climate action to support the implementation of the Paris Agreement (2015) involves nearly all fields of national and international policy-making. In this research paper,... view more
The European Union (EU) has been advocating climate policy ambitions from the very beginning of the international climate regime. Climate action to support the implementation of the Paris Agreement (2015) involves nearly all fields of national and international policy-making. In this research paper, we look into the role of trade policy in this respect. There are several legal and institutional options for how policy-makers in the EU and elsewhere could promote a productive relationship between the UN climate regime and the international trade regime, comprising the World Trade Organization (WTO) and regional trade agreements (RTAs). The increasing number of WTO disputes over national renewable energy policy regulations points to a systemic conflict between national climate policies and WTO obligations, whereas a number of RTAs including environmental standards demonstrate positive ways forward, in particular on how to avoid a race to the bottom. As a longer-term vision, we identify the legal options under the WTO regime, and for the medium term we suggest synergies that the EU can achieve through RTA negotiations and reviews. In the short term, the EU and its Member States should push for more transparency on trade-related climate measures, for example through notifications, between the bodies of the WTO and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, as well as follow up with climate policy allies on trade initiatives that support the climate agenda. (author's abstract)... view less
Keywords
climate policy; environmental policy; international cooperation; world trade; WTO; greenhouse effect; emission; climate protection; renewable energy; energy policy; EU
Classification
Special areas of Departmental Policy
Ecology, Environment
Free Keywords
Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change 21. (Paris, 2015-11-30/2015-12-11); Kohlendioxid; Emissionsreduktion; Internationale Verpflichtungen
Document language
English
Publication Year
2018
City
Berlin
Page/Pages
34 p.
Series
SWP Research Paper, 1/2018
ISSN
1863-1053
Status
Published Version; reviewed
Licence
Deposit Licence - No Redistribution, No Modifications