During the last years, the renewable energy strategy of the European Union (EU) and the proposed policies and regulations, namely the Renewable Energy Directive (RED), have been heavily discussed among scientific circles and various interest groups. The sustainability of different biofuels and...

On 05 December 2010, the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) came into force in the EU. Member States are still working to fully transpose the Directive into national law and establish a framework for achieving their legally binding greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions. However, governments got...

The European Union's (EU) Renewable Energy Directive (RED) continues to be the focus of much debate over the validity of biofuel sustainability. The debate is driven in part by ongoing concerns of transparency and regional variations of emissions from feedstock cultivation and processing. In a...

EU Member States face a quandary: after decades of demanding powers to choose whether or not to cultivate GM crops, the EU has returned some limited but significant powers to them. A directive permits Member States to “opt-out” from GM cultivation, provided that they meet relevant criteria....

This document examines the successes and failures of the present Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna (CITES) and analyses its defects. Major changes are needed in the structure of the Treaty to overcome its perceived shortcomings. A Vision for a new treaty is...

Much of the guidance about potential impacts of reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) speculates how efforts would be implemented and draws lessons from other mechanisms, such as payments for ecosystem services (PES). However, with few REDD activities underway, little...

This contribution discusses WTO subsidies disciplines in the context of the energy sector. After laying out the relevant disciplines, it will discuss the paradox of WTO law with respect to subsidies towards fossil fuels vis-à-vis those towards renewable energy. It is clear that subsidies on...

This article offers three instruments to effectively mitigate climate change in the context of COP26 and beyond. The first is the interaction between the climate and trade regimes. To that end, this article presents a thought-provoking premise – that mega-regional trade agreements (RTAs) can...

This article explores the links between climate neutrality and sustainability in the context of international trade. For that, it tackles seven main concerns: 1) what do industry leaders now need from policymakers to make them the frontrunners in the global transition to climate neutrality? 2)...

With the United States’ reentry to the Paris Agreement, there is now consensus among the world's largest carbon emitters that emissions must be reduced. But there is still a radical lack of consensus on what regulations should be chosen to reduce carbon. Worse, there is also a radical...