The WTO Law on Subsidies and Climate Change: Overcoming the Dissonance?

Kent, Avidan (2014) The WTO Law on Subsidies and Climate Change: Overcoming the Dissonance? Trade, Law and Development, 5 (2). pp. 344-382. ISSN 0976-2329

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Abstract

The worrisome rise in the number of trade disputes relating to climate change policies leaves no doubt as to the relevance of WTO law to climate change policies. Perhaps the most contentious aspect of the relationship between trade law and climate change policies is the issue of subsidies — while many climate change policies rely heavily on the use of subsidies, WTO law considers subsidies a distortive force and aspires to limit the use of such measures. This article evaluates the compatibility of several climate change programs in light of the WTO law on subsidies. It argues that the current legal framework is unsuitable for the promotion of climate change abatement objectives. This is because relevant considerations such as the urgency of the climate change problem, the many market failures embedded in climate-friendly goods and services, and the political reality currently abundant in many states, are entirely disregarded by the WTO law on subsidies. The recent Canada FIT Panel and Appellate Body Reports seem to accept this critique, and consequently present a modified approach to the interaction between the WTO law on subsidies and the climate change challenge. Another promising route of action can be found in the model reflected in an agreement recently concluded between the EU and China, in which, prima facie, the parties decided to include non-commercial considerations as relevant for their own trading relations. These two recent developments may signify a change in the approach towards the interaction between trade law and climate change, as well as a realisation that the current legal framework should be re-evaluated

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This manuscript was published in May 2014. However, it was originally scheduled for publication in the winter of 2013.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	sdg 13 - climate action ,/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/climate_action
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Law University of East Anglia Research Groups/Centres > Theme - ClimateUEA
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > International Law University of East Anglia Schools > Faculty of Science > Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	25 Nov 2014 16:06
Last Modified:	20 Oct 2023 00:58
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/50577
DOI:

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