Greenhouse Gases Emissions Reduction and WTO Trade Rules

Greenhouse gases (GHGs) cannot be contained within nations' border and climate change is certainly a global issue that requires global actions. Therefore, when a country considers domestic measures to reduce GHGs emissions, their impacts beyond the nation's border should be examined carefully. Possible effects through international trade are particularly important in the globalized world with growing trade and expanding capital movements. After reviewing the current status of multilateral environment agreements (MEAs), how they are related to WTO trade rules, legal questions and dispute cases that are possibly related to GHGs emissions reduction, this paper examines recently proposed border GHGs adjustment measures and various WTO agreements as potential tools that are promising or not promising. This paper also suggests how to make WTO's potential tools ready and how to build global consensus so that we can avoid unilateral trade measures for climate change. Finally, policy implications for Korea are discussed.