Simon Lester

Commenting on the panel report, economist Amar Breckenridge says no: The reason governments choose to support the development of renewables is not primarily because of concerns regarding the adequacy and affordability of supply. Rather it is because lower emissions sources of energy, such as renewables, confer a positive benefit to

I've done several posts related to the Canada - Renewable Energy AB reasoning on "benefit."  As I noted, there is some uncertainty as to the potential scope of the ruling.  How much leeway do governments now have to provide finanical contributions in a way that "

Arizona State University asked me to post this: The Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law seeks a dynamic, proactive, and highly-motivated individual for the position of Director of the Center for Law and Global Affairs. The Director will report to the Dean of the College and will work

The WSJ has a strange article on Roberto Azevedo's selection as DG.  It starts: A depressing rule of international institutions is that whatever their founding intentions they inevitably evolve to serve themselves or their worst members more than their original cause. The latest example is the World Trade

The Washington Post has an excellent article on the WTO Tuna-Dolphin dispute, stripped of legal jargon and very informative. An excerpt: There is no sure way to catch tuna without harming other marine life. Dolphins, as well as sharks, turtles and other animals, are unintentionally killed as bycatch in the

For those of you who want to hear more about the EU case related to the seal products ban, Laurens Ankersmit has the details at the European Law Blog.  Here's an excerpt: In a second round of cases in Luxembourg, a number of seal hunters failed (yet again)

Here's more from the AB reasoning in Renewable Energy/Feed-In Tariffs: 5.174. In the present disputes, supply-side factors suggest that windpower and solar PV producers of electricity cannot compete with other electricity producers because of differences in cost structures and operating costs and characteristics. Windpower and solar

THE ACADEMY OF INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT AND TRADE LAW 2013 Macau Cultural Centre 8th – 18th July 2013 Objectives: The Academy of International Investment and Trade Law, based in Macau and organized by the Institute of European Studies of Macau since, aims at providing education and training at the highest international standard

I'm still puzzling over the Appellate Body's reasoning on "benefit" under SCM Agreement Article 1.1(b) in the Renewable Energy/Feed-In Tariff case, mentioned in the last post (Luca Rubini is doing the same thing in his comment to the post).  Very briefly,

The AB report in Canada - Renewable Energy/Feed-In Tariffs has been circulated.  There's a lot to digest in the reasoning on "benefit," and I've only just skimmed it, but my impression is that they have tried to provide some flexibility under the SCM