5 Using Preferential Trade Agreements to Promote Climate Change Mitigation

Abstract

This chapter proposes the introduction of a regional model for promoting climate change mitigation as an alternative to the present structure of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)/Kyoto Protocol framework. Given the proliferation of Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs), especially in the form of bilateral treaties, in the international trading system, the chapter advocates creating PTAs with strong climate change chapters, thus embedding climate goals within bilateral/trilateral/plurilateral trade agreements. Involving major greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters through PTAs, which include climate chapters, can be an effective avenue towards reducing GHG emissions, and could therefore facilitate the ultimate goal of creating an effective global climate regime. The chapter explains why countries are slowly moving away from multilateralism and proposes increasing and improving environmental protection aspects within trade agreements. It suggests how to do it and which proposed PTAs would be most suitable for the suggested proposition to be successful. Keywords: environmental protection; greenhouse gas (GHG); Kyoto Protocol; multilateralism; Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs); trade agreements; UNFCCC