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School of Law

Professor Rafael Leal-Arcas publishes new research on international trade and sustainable development

The two articles investigate “Green Bills for Green Earth: How the international trade and climate regimes work together to save the planet,” and “International Trade, Energy Transition and Climate Change Obligations: The perspective of small Pacific islands and the Caribbean Community,”.

Published:
A plant growing in a desert

Professor Dr Rafael Leal-Arcas, Jean Monnet Chair in EU International Economic Law at Queen Mary University of London, publishes his most recent research on international trade and sustainable development.

Green Bills for Green Earth

Rafael Leal-Arcas, Teemu Alex Hast, Lucas Sperka, Aarushi Mittal, Hannah Kasak-Gliboff, Kaushal Prakash, “Green Bills for Green Earth: How the international trade and climate regimes work together to save the planet,” European Energy and Environmental Law Review, Vol. 31, Issue 1, 2022

Abstract

Through their Intergovernmental Panels on Climate Change, the scientific community tells us that we are heading towards a climate catastrophe. As a result, various countries are offering various promising and novel policy instruments to mitigate climate change and continue to grow macro-economically, as we witnessed in the Glasgow Conference of the Parties in 2021. In other words, finding ways to grow economically while, at the same time, protect the environment and mitigate climate change. In that spirit, this article first provides an overview of the global trade and climate regimes. It then offers an analysis of how the World Trade Organisation globally and the European Union (EU) regionally might combat climate change in remarkable ways. The article also provides an analysis of European Green Deal and the US Green New Deal, two encouraging policy instruments to help mitigate climate change ambitiously. Finally, the article provides a thorough assessment of the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.

International Trade, Energy Transition and Climate Change Obligations

Rafael Leal-Arcas et al., “International Trade, Energy Transition and Climate Change Obligations: The perspective of small Pacific islands and the Caribbean Community,” Trade, Law and Development, Vol. 13.2, 2021.

Abstract

This paper explores how the international trading system can help achieve sustainability worldwide. It aims to do three things: first, an explanation of how the international trading system (multilaterally, regionally, or bilaterally) helps and contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals; second, an analysis of the role of free trade agreements in the energy transition, by focusing on small Pacific island developing states; and third, an exploration of how trade law is the enforcer of climate change obligations from the perspective of the states of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

 

 

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