Delimatsis, Panagiotis --- "Introduction: Climate change and trade law—challenges for governance and coordination" [2016] ELECD 1459; in Delimatsis, Panagiotis (ed), "Research Handbook on Climate Change and Trade Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2016) 1

Book Title: Research Handbook on Climate Change and Trade Law

Editor(s): Delimatsis, Panagiotis

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781783478439

Section Title: Introduction: Climate change and trade law—challenges for governance and coordination

Author(s): Delimatsis, Panagiotis

Number of pages: 6

Extract:

Introduction: Climate change and trade
law--challenges for governance and coordination
Panagiotis Delimatsis



Climate change has been identified as one of the biggest security threats nowadays and
its threat-multiplying effect is now commonplace, negatively impacting both the
developed and the developing world.1 The scientific work accomplished within the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC2) has led to the acknowledgement
that climate change largely is human-made and thus cannot be effectively addressed
without the imposition of constraints in human behaviour (notably in production and
consumption patterns) globally. Such constraints will have to be immediate in view of
the uncontrolled manner in which cross-border negative externalities spread.
However, the mixed experience with the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol and
the repeated failures to agree on a successive global treaty have made clear that
significant collective action challenges exist in this area that are associated with the
supply of global public goods.3 In addition, the global and diffused nature of
greenhouse gas (GHG) and other emissions and the long-term horizons involved
undermine the mobilization of converging voices calling for common action. In the
United States (US), one of the biggest global emitters, some still raise doubts regarding
the otherwise established scientific consensus about soon irreversible climate changes
and thus impose obstacles on immediate climate action.4 It is quite telling that over half
of the US states have objected to the application of the Clean Power Plan by the Obama
administration. This is one of the most ...