Climate Clubs for a Sustainable Future

Energy and Environmental Law and Policy Series #41

We know the science of climate change; we know the economics of climate change; we also know the law of climate change. However, we do not know how countries may come together to cooperate on climate change mitigation. In this connection, the role of international trade in climate change, although universally acknowledged, is not well understood. This groundbreaking book by one of the world’s foremost authorities on international economic law not only investigates this role in great depth, but also explains how free trade agreements can be used as a powerful tool to help mitigate climate change.

Focusing on the idea of climate clubs—namely the coalition of the willing—among governments, companies, and/or international institutions, the book offers insightful analysis on aspects of the trade–climate linkage such as:

• formation of climate clubs;
• legitimacy and accountability;
• technological cooperation;
• green patents;
• how competition law hinders effective cooperation between companies seeking to produce sustainable goods;
• domestic policy preferences;
• recognizing States that should legitimately be allowed to be free riders; and
• sanctions for noncompliance.

Three detailed case studies are included: a comparison of the U.S. and European Union (EU) Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) programs, energy security in the Arab world, and EU–Russia energy trade relations.

With the author’s conviction that global access to energy, mitigating climate change, and benefit from international trade and investment all can be achieved, this book offers a fresh understanding of the international trading system as a way to reach a prosperous, modern, and sustainable society that will help decarbonize the economy effectively. It will be welcomed by all professionals and policymakers concerned with climate change mitigation, and particularly by those active at its nexus with international trade.