International Cooperation for Border Carbon Adjustment Mechanisms: Quo vadis, WTO?

The DCU Centre for Climate and Society hosted a public lecture by Dr. Alessandro Monti from the University of Copenhagen on International Cooperation for Border Carbon Adjustment Mechanisms: Quo vadis, WTO? on 14 November 2022. 

Abstract: Implementing border carbon adjustment mechanisms is widely regarded as a crucial tool for tackling carbon leakage. At present, a number of major emitters, including the European Union, have advanced proposals to introduce a charge at the border based on the levels of GHG emissions embedded in imported products. Such border carbon adjustment measures may be implemented by individual jurisdictions, be negotiated among a selected group of trade partners, or coordinated multilaterally within the framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The lecture will discuss the WTO’s role in fostering multilateral cooperation on border carbon adjustment while examining challenges and opportunities that may arise from addressing border carbon adjustment at the multilateral level.

Alessandro Monti bio: Alessandro Monti is an Assistant Professor at the University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Law. His main area of research is the interaction between climate change and international economic law, with special focus on the energy sector. Previously to his appointment as Assistant Professor, in 2021 he obtained his double-degree PhD in International Law at the Universities of Innsbruck and Padova, with a dissertation on the promotion of renewable energy in international trade law (forthcoming with Edward Elgar in 2023). Thereafter, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Copenhagen, within the project Enhancing Climate Action through International Law (EnAct), which focuses on the link between climate change and international investment law. As part of this project, he also carried out a visiting research stay at New York University in February 2022. Beyond his research activities, Alessandro teaches several bachelor and master courses on climate, energy and economic law at the University of Copenhagen. Since 2018, he is also a licensed attorney in Italy.