The Conversation: Today’s International Free Trade Rules are Not Suited for the Climate Crisis
19 hours ago
Essay by Eric Worrall
Climate subsidies like the Biden Inflation Reduction Act violated international free trade rules. The green solution: Get rid of free trade.
The US broke global trade rules to try to fix climate change – to finish the job, it has to fix the trade system
Published: September 5, 2023 10.31pm AEST
Noah Kaufman Research Scholar in Climate Economics, Columbia University
Chris Bataille Adjunct Research Fellow in Energy and Climate Policy, Columbia University
Gautam Jain Senior Research Scholar in Financing the Energy Transition, Columbia University
Sagatom Saha Research Scholar in Energy Policy, Columbia University
The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, President Joe Biden’s landmark climate law, is now expected to prompt a trillion dollars in government spending to fight climate change and trillions more in private investment. But the law and Biden’s broader “buy American” agenda include measures that discriminate against imports.
One year in, these policies, such as the law’s electric vehicle subsidies, appear to be succeeding at growing domestic clean energy industries – consider the US$100 billion in newly announced battery supply chain investments. But we believe the law also clearly violates international trade rules.
The problem is not the crime but the cover-up. Today’s trade rules are ill-suited for the climate crisis. However, simply tearing them down could hinder economic growth and climate progress alike.
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/09/06/the-conversation-todays-international-free-trade-rules-are-not-suited-for-the-climate-crisis/
