Regulation Of Carbon Emission Trading Under The WTO

Carbon Emission Trading System is a governance mechanism that has emerged in the context of the response to global climate change.It is progressive as a governance instrument.It is a powerful initiative to unite the efforts of the international community and private actors.As a trading system,it is intimately intertwined with the existing free trade system.Carbon Emission Trading is essentially a form of "trade".In the international trade arena,the WTO,with its institutional integrity and superiority in dispute settlement,plays a key role in coordination of free trade.Hence Carbon Emission Trading System is bound to operate under the international economic system represented by the WTO,and has a certain degree of intersection with it.Besides,certain measures taken by countries in Carbon Emission Trading will inevitably conflict with the WTO rules in the process of operation.From the perspective of international jurisprudence,this article explores the position of carbon emission rights in international trade,the possibility,necessity and practicality of integrating carbon emission rights into the WTO system,explores the connection and conflict between the two systems,and proposes constructive comments.Chapter 1 unfolds the Carbon Emission Trading System which includes the background to the establishment of it,the explanation of concepts,and the theoretical foundations in order to form a basic framework for understanding the Emission Trading System.Secondly,it discusses the parallel development of climate governance and the WTO,dissects the intersection and linkages between the two,and points out the need to analyze the linkages,as well as the value of their purpose,which ultimately serves the sustainable development of all humankind.Chapters 2 and 3 analyze carbon trading under the framework of GATT and GATS respectively,with the intention of analyzing whether carbon units have the attributes of goods and services.Also,this part discusses whether GATT and GATS rules can be used to regulate carbon emission trading-related rules.GATT is one of the key agreements under the WTO system,the term "goods" in it is not explicitly defrned,which leaves a lot of room to explore.This chapter focuses on the issue of tangibility",which has been used as a criterion for judging "goods".The third chapter discusses "services" and "financial services",focusing on the GATS and its Financial Services Annex.There are different conclusions due to the variety of Carbon Emission Rights,but it turns out that it is not arbitrarily excluded.Some states may impose restrictions on the import and export of carbon units in various ways for the purpose of the environmental protection or domestic economic,and these restrictions may result in prima facie violations of,for example,Most-Favored-Nation treatment.However,the defense of reasonableness of related measures can also be achieved if the elements of the"general exception" are met.Therefore,Chapter 4 will analyze the possibility of invoking the general exception clause and the conditions for successful invocation,using the criteria and order of review of the General Exception Clause as a path.Chapter 5 presents constructive thoughts on how to achieve the sound operation of Carbon Market under the WTO framework.It also suggests how states like China should respond if it encounters discriminatory treatment or if its related measures or rules are complained to the Dispute Settlement Body.And further,it discusses how the design and implementation of the carbon market and its rules should be in line with WTO rules.