In December 2019, the European Commission released a mechanism to fight climate change, namely the European Green Deal. This policy was put in place to materialize the goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change of 2015, that is, to combat the issue of climate change along the lines of sustainable development and fight poverty. In the context of the European Green Deal, one of the key instruments envisaged to achieve the ambitious plans of the European Union (EU) is the so-called Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which is the focus of this article and has been described as an ‘extraterritorial outreach’ for attempting to regulate matters outside the EU borders. This article seeks to answer is whether the CBAM is justified in line with the need to protect the environment and address climate change as well as increasing global economic welfare and reducing poverty. This article provides an overview of CBAM, analyses the rationale behind CBAM as well as the various misgivings from third parties. It contextualizes CBAM in the context of free trade and examines whether CBAM is consistent with multilateral trade rules. It then provides the design of a CBAM based on the principles of international trade and sustainable development. The article concludes that, overall, the analysis of CBAMs, particularly regarding the fervency of the EU to make its CBAM compatible with both trade rules and climate change objectives, demonstrates states’ growing interest in protecting the planet, while preserving economic values; it also indicates the importance of trade in managing those interests. Carbon border adjustment mechanism, WTO, European Green Deal, international trade, GATT, sustainable development, Fit for 55

This article offers three instruments to effectively mitigate climate change in the context of the Conference of the Parties (COP)26 and beyond. The first is the interaction between the climate and trade regimes. To that end, this article presents a thought-provoking premise – that mega-regional trade agreements (RTAs) can take a significant role in climate change mitigation. It argues that mega-RTAs can go further to galvanize climate change mitigation, in particular in the energy sector. The energy sector is the largest contributor of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with the majority of energy consumption being supplied by fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, and oil. As such, there are two main arguments made herein. First, mega-RTAs, as tangible indications of what is acceptable to major economies, are the impetus to influencing greater coherence on energy efficiency standards. This contributes to climate action by creating, even if to some extent, the harmonization of an otherwise fragmented status of energy governance. Second, mega-RTAs can create substantive provisions that redirect support from fossil fuels to renewable energy. This is the very essence of the energy transition. It is envisaged that these two roles conveyed effectively through mega-RTAs can substantially support the energy transition and amounts to action that mitigates climate change and promotes sustainable energy. The second instrument to effectively mitigate climate change is the role of two major Asian countries that are key in the fight against climate change, namely India and China. Both countries can play a major role in effectively mitigating climate change in the future, following the agreement at COP26 that coal must be phased down. Lastly, the third instrument is visualizing what a decarbonized future would look like. Two of many possible pathways for decarbonization are examined: clean-energy technologies and shale gas as a bridge to sustainability. The article argues that these pathways can be meaningful for effective climate action and are in alignment with the Glasgow Climate Pact. energy transition, mega-regional trade agreements, fossil fuels, renewable energy, global energy governance, electrification, clean-energy technologies, shale gas, sustainability

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract