Study On Carbon Tariff Legal System Under WTO

Climate change has become a global public risk, but there are still lots of differencesbetween developed and developing countries in the emission reductions accountability. Thisleads to the mandatory binding global emissions reduction agreement can’t be made outbetween the two sides. In order to protect the international competitiveness of the domesticindustries, to prevent carbon leakage, and to force developing countries to make a mandatorybinding emission reduction commitment, the "American Clean Energy Security Act" hasbeen voted by U.S. House of Representatives in2009. It makes ‘carbon tariff’ become theforefront of academic research. And then EU made the airline industry be incorporated intothe EU Emissions Trading System formally in2012. This means that all aircraft taking offand landing in EU will be charged carbon emissions fees. This leads to a globaldiscussing once again. So carbon tariffs has become a global controversy, it is worth for ourattention.This paper analysis the carbon tariff under the WTO system, it has been divided into fourparts: the first chapter gave a brief overview, including the origin, the concept and theimplementing basis of carbon tariffs, and introductions about carbon tariff system in EU andthe US,it also analyzed the effect of the implementation of carbon tariffs. The secondchapter focuses on the consistency between carbon tariff and the WTO system. It analyzedthe rationality of carbon tariffs from the perspective of trade and environmental protectionobjectively, and then analyzed the legality of carbon tariffs from the principle of nationaltreatment, MFN and the rules of GATT in the WTO system. The third chapter analyzed thelimitations of existing rules under WTO, as well as the necessity and feasibility of buildingnew rules, and then proposed a strategic planning that WTO rules should be sub-two-stepwhich is short and long term to limit the carbon tariffs. The fourth chapter introduces thestrategy of China to respond to carbon tariff under the WTO system. It shows that Chinaneed to increase the international voice of the climate from energy conservation andemission reduction, and insist on the position of responding to carbon tariff under the WTOsystem.