Calster, Geert van --- "Climate Change Taxes, Emission Trading, and International Trade Law" [2006] ELECD 435; in Peeters, Marjan; Deketelaere, Kurt (eds), "EU Climate Change Policy" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2006)

Book Title: EU Climate Change Policy

Editor(s): Peeters, Marjan; Deketelaere, Kurt

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781845426057

Section: Chapter 11

Section Title: Climate Change Taxes, Emission Trading, and International Trade Law

Author(s): Calster, Geert van

Number of pages: 16

Extract:

11. Climate change taxes, emissions
trading, and international trade law
Geert van Calster1

1. iNtroDUCtioN: oF trEms aND mEas
at the moment of conception of the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCC), the integration of a future emissions trading regime
with international trade law was, arguably, not the main preoccupation of the
negotiators. this was all the more so given that the outlook for the agreement
at that time was not one which would have focused heavily on trade-sensitive
instruments if only because, as a framework convention, the UNFCC does not
provide for much in terms of policy detail. rather, trade concerns started arising
once the Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCC was signed. Even that Protocol, readers
will remember, was not initially designed to harbour many `new' approaches
such as emissions trading or flexible instruments ­ these were championed by
the United states (Us) that eventually did not adhere to the Protocol, and were
only embraced by the European Union (EU) after some time.
once, of course, one starts having major regional groupings such as the EU,
implement multilateral environmental agreements (mEas) by way of a trade
instrument, the interest of the world trade organization (wto) is assured.
sadly, perhaps, little progress has been made in formal discussions in the
wto, ever since the issue of trade-related Environmental measures (trEms)
was brought to its attention. on the other hand, there is reason for cautious op-
timism. First, that little progress has been made in formal discussions is ...