Raymond Saner (2024) “The WTO, Climate Change and Sustainable Development” (accepted for publication to be published as IJSD 2024 V27 N3)
The author contributes to the trade & environment debate that so far excluded theoretical concepts such as the principle of mutual supportiveness of international agreements, the insights of public goods theory, and a positive trade & environment agenda.
Based on the inclusion of these new concepts, an enlarged frame of trade, environment, and development is proposed which forms the basis for a reinterpretation of standard WTO articles making a more inclusive approach possible to stop climate change. For instance, the Local Content Requirement is discussed as a means to support citizens of developing countries to generate their renewable energy sources combined with a reinterpretation of Intellectual Property Rights to make the transfer of technology possible of renewable energy in the less developed parts of the world.
The suggested solution is a cross-régime/forum agreement to reduce climate risks by integrating trade into the 2030 Agenda and its 17 SDGs resulting in a reduction of climate warming which is much less costly than the looming future costs and liabilities caused by climate change.