On International Regulations Of Technical Measures Mitigating Climate Change

Climate change has intensified in the past decade or more,and the problem of climate change has become a more serious global environmental problem.To mitigate climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,countries or economies have taken measures to cope with climate change.However,not all of the above measures are used to solve the problem of climate change.In name of mitigating climate change,some countries or economies have adopted technical measures that substantially limit international trade,such as technical regulations,standards,signs and assessment procedures,to solve the problem of the competitiveness of domestic enterprises.This paper takes technical measures mitigating climate change as the research object,and uses relevant theories of trade and environmental interactions,including the externalities and global of economic activities theories,sustainable development theories,and international governance theories,to explore the role of technical measures and the norms that should be followed in the global environmental problem of climate change.Through comparative analysis of the technical measures taken by countries(or economies)to mitigate climate change and the international trade disputes cases caused by these measures,this paper discusses the issues and trends in the legitimacy of such measures under the existing WTO rules.At the same time,this paper analyzes the multilateral environmental rules and uses bilateral and regionalrules to further clarify the legal nature of technical measures mitigating climate change and the challenges China may face.On this basis,this paper explores how China can prevent and respond to disputes arising from such measures taken by other countries or China itself in the relation of international trade and environmental protection and safeguard its own low-carbon trade interests.The introduction part of this paper introduces the background,the research ideas and methods,as well as the main innovations and deficiencies.The conclusion part summarizes the main conclusions of this paper.The body part consists of four chapters.The first chapter analyzes the origin of technical measures mitigating climate change and analyzes the relationship between climate change and international trade through economic principles,international law theory,and global theory.Then,by exploring the legal basis of technical measures mitigating climate change,the paper sorts out the classification and expression form of technical measures and defines the research object of this paper.On this basis,this chapter holds that the existence of technical measures mitigating climate change may have an impact on international trade,and that technical measures mitigating climate change are often characterized by duality,concealment,complexity,and extensiveness.Therefore,more and more countries use this countermeasure to restrict the import and export of products from other countries,protect the competitiveness of domestic products,and thus affect international trade.Whether the technical measures adopted by these countries are in conformity with the norms of international law,especially the international climate rules and international trade rules,will be the focus of attention of all countries in the future,and this paper also explain the necessity of using international rules to adjust such measures.The second chapter collates,summarizes,and evaluates relevant rules of international law that may apply to technical measures mitigating climate change,including WTO rules,multilateral environmental agreements,and regional and bilateral agreements.This chapter analyzes the role that these provisions can play in qualifying the legality of technical measures mitigating climate change.Given thelimited number of countries and economies covered by regional and bilateral agreements,it is difficult to legally define the technical measures mitigating climate change at the global level.The multilateral environmental agreements have a wide range of responses to climate change,as well as the irreconcilable contradiction between developed countries and developing countries,making it difficult to have specific rules to legally define the technical measures mitigating climate change.In addition,due to the existence of dispute settlement agencies in the WTO,and a series of international law practices have been formed in response to environmental issues,as well as the WTO's unique “retaliate” mechanism has enabled its member countries to comply with WTO rules,so the WTO is more conducive to solving climate change issues.The third chapter,combining with the latest relevant practices of the WTO dispute settlement mechanism,studies the legality of the technical measures mitigating climate change under the WTO rules.First of all,although the current international dispute resolution practice has not yet addressed the technical measures mitigating climate change,as more and more countries have taken such measures,more and more disputes that may arise about such measures under the WTO rules in the future.Secondly,judging from the current WTO rules and international practices,there are certain flexibility and uncertainty as to whether technical measures mitigating climate change violate the rules of the WTO.Compared with voluntary measures,mandatory measures are more likely to violate the WTO rules,and PPM measures are more complicated than product measures on the judgment of legality.Finally,after defining a technical measure mitigating climate change is in violation of the WTO rules,whether it can be defended against by the general exception of Article20 of the GATT and whether technical measures mitigating climate change can be read as protecting the health of humans,animals and plants or measures taken to protect depletable natural resources require further interpretation of “required” or“relevant” by the WTO dispute settlement body.Current international practice is still inconclusive,but overall,compares with item(b)of Article 20 of the GATT,the application of item(g)for defense is simpler in terms of proof.The fourth chapter analyzes the domestic rules design and international response of technical measures mitigating climate change in China.First of all,on the disputes related to technical measures mitigating climate change,as a country with large greenhouse gas emissions,major countries for goods trade,and developing countries,China faces the challenge of existing international practices,including not only China's own technical measures mitigating climate change are challenged by other countries,but also the effects of technical measures mitigating climate change taken by other countries to China's low-carbon trade.Then,this paper provides suggestions for China's response to such measures through both domestic and international policies.In addition,China should not only actively participate in the formulation of multilateral trade and environment rules,but also promote bilateral low-carbon industry development through bilateral and regional negotiations,striving for a favorable environment for China's low-carbon trade.In the concluding part,the paper summarized the definition of technical measures mitigating climate change under the current rules and analyzed the solution's outlet in the current rules.For our country,mitigating climate change is both an opportunity and a challenge.On the one hand,China should combine its own national conditions,make adjustments to domestic measures and make it comply with the existing WTO rules,and on the other hand,China should actively use the WTO dispute settlement mechanism to handle disputes with other countries to safeguard the legal right of China's low-carbon industry.