Climate change mitigation and the WTO framework

Global concerns over the effects of GHG emissions on the climate has led to important developments in climate change policies. As a result, several different policy paths at national and regional levels might be adopted to address the issue, including through the use of trade-related mechanisms. Such paths might give rise to concerns regarding their effectiveness and potential consequences for different economies. The concluding chapter joins the debate around the issues addressed throughout the book by presenting the institutional role the WTO can play to promote the mutual supportiveness between international trade and climate change. Three principal institutional roles are outlined: as a binding legal system that regulates its members' trade interactions and which includes a dispute settlement resolution mechanism; as a framework through which WTO members are engaged in a peer-review of each other's trade policies; and as a negotiating forum in which members exchange views, opinions and ultimately negotiate ways to further their trade relations. The concluding chapter discusses such institutional roles and explores how the WTO offers a framework for its members to address the trade issues that may arise when adopting measures aimed at climate change mitigation.