WTO Members, Not the Appellate Body, Need to Clarify Boundaries in Renewable Energy Support
What constitutes appropriate state measures for incentivizing renewable energy development and deployment?
This key question has been posed, not only by the sustainable development community, but even more so by governments and investors around the world. On May 6, 2013, all eyes were focused on the Appellate Body (AB) of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which gave its first ruling on measures affecting the renewable energy generation sector as part of a dispute brought by Japan and the European Union against Canada (Ontario). However, the AB ruling failed to provide legal clarification and interpretation of WTO rules related to sustainable energy. At the same time, parts of its analysis may have created a broad and potentially problematic carve-out of the subsidy agreement. This commentary analyzes what this ruling meant for the legal status of feed-in tariffs, and argues that WTO members, and not the AB, should clarify boundaries in renewable energy support.
You might also be interested in
Unlocking Supply Chains for Localizing Electric Vehicle Battery Production in India
This study aims to highlight the key supply chain barriers in localizing electric vehicle (EV) battery cell manufacturing in India. It summarizes consultations with 12 companies, as well as experts and policy-makers, to determine the crucial challenges and opportunities in localizing battery manufacturing in India.
COP 29 Must Deliver on Last Year’s Historic Energy Transition Pact
At COP 29 in Baku, countries must build on what was achieved at COP 28 and clarify what tripling renewables and transitioning away from fossil fuels means in practice.
IISD Welcomes Draft Regulations for Oil and Gas Pollution Cap
A firm cap on emissions can provide certainty for industry to invest in decarbonization, while ensuring the sector is on a path to net-zero by 2050.
Capping Potential Blowouts
This policy brief argues that the oil and gas emissions cap is necessary but cautions that some of its compliance flexibilities may amount to a critical weakening.