Trade and Environment

From the conclusions of a paper entitled "Environmental Effects of International Trade" by Jeffrey Frankel of the Kennedy School: Concluding recommendations regarding trade penalties in climate legislation The central message of this section of the report is that border measures to address leakage need not necessarily violate the

As a result of my post the other day on the carbon tax proposal by Congressman Inglis and Arthur Laffer, I received a call from Congressman Inglis' office, inviting the media, which to my surprise apparently includes me, to join a conference call hosted by Inglis and Laffer, where

Somewhat related to yesterday's post on using consumption taxes to fight carbon emissions, Congressman Bob Inglis and economist Arthur Laffer argue in the NY Times for a carbon tax that is offset by income tax cuts.  In doing so, they say: The United States can’t solve climate

How can we effectively fight carbon emissions, while at the same time limiting trade conflicts that result from such measures?  Geoff Carmody explains that the answer is to focus on consumption rather than production: But an emissions production model only works if all nations sign on at the same time.

Updating this old post, there has apparently now been a threat of a WTO complaint against proposed EU biofuel restrictions.  Here are the restrictions: [The EU] intends to introduce new restrictions defining what type of land is suitable for creating biofuels. If the plans were to go ahead, fuels coming

On 30 November 2007, Chairman of the WTO Negotiating Group on Rules issued Draft Consolidated Chair Texts of the AD and SCM Agreements (TN/RL/W/213), which contained Annex VIII to the SCM Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies. Annex VIII provides a wide range of prohibited fisheries subsidies that contribute

From a speech by Peter Mandelson: The elephant in the room when we talk about trade incentives for the right climate policy is of course the idea of a carbon border tax. This is intended to punish free-riders who don't sign up to a global climate deal and

I love labeling as a solution to many trade-environment conflicts.  I think it can be done in a way that is consistent with trade rules, and can also have a positive impact on environmental problems.  So I was happy to read this piece in the Guardian: Japan is to carry