Description
Oxford Emissions Trading Schemes under International Economic Law 2018 Edition by James Munro
The announcement by China that it will implement a national emissions trading scheme confirms the status of this instrument as the pre-eminent policy choice for mitigating climate change. China will join the dozens of existing and emerging schemes around the world - from the EU to California, South Korea to New Zealand - that use carbon units (otherwise known as emissions permits or carbon credits) to trade in greenhouse gas emissions in a multi-billion dollarglobal carbon market. However, to date, there has been no consensus about this pre-eminent policy instrument being regulated by international economic law through the World Trade Organization, international investment agreements, and free trade agreements. Munro addresses this issue by evaluating whether carbon units qualify as 'goods', 'services', 'financial services', and 'investments' under international economic law and showing how international economic law applies to emissions trading scheme in diverse andunexpected ways. Further, by engaging in a comparative assessment of schemes around the world, his book illustrates how and why all emissions trading schemes engage in various forms of violations of international economic law which would not, in most instances, be justified by environmental or otherexceptions. In doing so, he demonstrates how such schemes can be designed or reformed in ways to ensure their future compliance. Table of contents : - 1: IntroductionI: CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS: EMISSIONS TRADING SCHEMES AND INTERNATIONAL LAW2: Applying International Economic Law to Emissions Trading Schemes: Treaty Interpretation and the Paris Agreement3: Carbon Units and Emissions Trading SchemesII: CHARACTERISATION OF CARBON UNITS UNDER INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC LAW4: International Trade in Carbon Units under GATT 1994 and Free Trade Agreements5: International Trade in Carbon Units under GATS and Free Trade Agreements6: International Trade in Carbon Units and Financial Services7: Carbon Units as 'Investments' under International Investment AgreementsIII: CONSISTENCY OF EMISSIONS TRADING SCHEMES WITH INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC LAW8: A Taxonomy of Prima Facie Violations of International Economic Law9: Exceptions10: Conclusion