Marin Duran, Gracia; Scott, Joanne; (2024) Global EU Climate Action and the Principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities. In: Armstrong, Kenneth and Scott, Joanne and Thies, Anne, (eds.) EU External Relations and the Power of Law. Hart Publishing (In press).

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Abstract

Following the adoption of the European Green Deal in December 2019, the European Union (EU) is becoming increasingly assertive in its use of (unilateral) trade-related measures to address its global environmental footprint. In this chapter, we examine two recent and closely related instances of such a global EU climate action, namely the revised Emissions Trading System Directive and its extension to greenhouse gas emissions from the maritime sector and the Regulation establishing a carbon border adjustment mechanism. In so doing, the EU is testing the boundaries of permissible unilateral action to protect the global climate system under international law, including from the perspective of the principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC) which is one of the foundational pillars of the multilateral climate change regime. We first explain why this principle is of legal significance to global EU climate action and when it should be taken into account. We then argue that the selected EU trade-related climate measures do not fully respect the CBDR-RC principle and show how these measures need to be adjusted to ensure they do.

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