Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism + WTO = Impasse Totale?

This policy brief argues that the World Trade Organization (WTO) stands in the way of climate change mitigation. This is because the WTO’s “holy law” of non-discrimination conflicts with the differentiation commitments under the Paris Climate Agreement. This conflict points to the need for a thorough review of the WTO rules and disciplines, which is difficult in an organization whose member states diverge even on how to resuscitate a binding dispute resolution mechanism to respect existing rules and disciplines. However, global warming will not wait for trade experts to sort out the present WTO stalemate. A trade organisation must do more than moving deckchairs on the Titanic.