This article examines concerns created by the implementation of the emissions trading scheme (EU ETS) within the EU upon the international competitiveness of EU‐based industry. It analyses current discussions on whether it would be feasible to couple the EU ETS with border tax adjustments (BTA) in order to address those competitiveness concerns. The (il)legality of introducing BTA vis‐à‐vis relevant World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements is discussed (in particular the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the Subsidies and Countervailing Measures Agreement), and different opinions are reviewed. In the light of that discussion, some suggestions that come from the literature on how to reconcile BTA in connection with the EU ETS and WTO relevant law are presented.

This article explores the space for public participation during the consenting process for a nationally significant wind energy or carbon capture and storage infrastructure project. Legal obligations to provide opportunities for public involvement in these processes can be found in national, EU and international law. However, an examination of strategic planning policy suggests that in practice, very little will be up for discussion at this stage. This is consistent with a certain mistrust of the public in high-level policy discourse on the technological change thought necessary for climate change mitigation. Legally entrenched rights to participate, coupled with limited opportunities to influence, create the danger that participation becomes a simple bureaucratic hurdle, frustrating for all concerned.

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