International Trade and Climate Policy – Trade Policy Measures and their Potential and Limits for Combating Climate Change

The objective of the project was to analyze important dimensions of the linkages between trade and climate policy. The main questions were: To what extent can trade policy measures contribute to combating climate change? And which role do WTO rules play in that context?
The project had three parts. The first part addresses the question whether or not the currently discussed border adjustment measures, aimed at undermining leakage of carbon-intensive industries to non-implementing countries and assisting efforts to reach a global climate change agreement, are a promising policy instrument. The second part focused on the role of services for climate policy and the potential function of the WTO General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS) in that regard. The third part addressed the transfer of climate-friendly technology to developing countries and assesses the role of intellectual property rights (TRIPS Agreement) against that background.