Law Commons^™

Meaningful Participation In A Global Climate Regime, Bryant Walker Smith

Bryant Walker Smith

An effective climate regime must be global rather than merely international and must contemplate the significant involvement of actors other than states. “Meaningful participation” in a global climate regime is already occurring in the Global South. That participation helps to satisfy the existing international legal obligations undertaken by developing states and merits greater recognition in future legal regimes. Moreover, that participation constitutes a form of global governance separate from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and, regardless of its legal status, deserves greater attention in practical efforts to address climate change.

The article has several parts. First, …

Air Pollution As An Asset: China's Use Of The Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism, Bryant Walker Smith

Bryant Walker Smith

This article, which examines the use of the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) in the People's Republic of China, has two purposes. First, it places both China and the CDM in the larger context of international environmental law. Second, it analyzes and assesses China’s use of the CDM.

The article has six parts. Following a brief note about Taiwan, Part 3 discusses climate change and China. Part 4 tracks the global response to climate change, including the CDM. Part 5 examines the relationship between the CDM and China, and Part 6 concludes with a consideration of additional challenges present …

Water As A Public Good: The Status Of Water Under The General Agreement On Tariffs And Trade, Bryant Walker Smith

Bryant Walker Smith

Is water a “product” subject to the World Trade Organization (WTO)’s General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)? I argue that it is not, because the established, widespread, and consistent assertion by states of public ownership over their water resources through both municipal and international law (the “public-ownership consensus”) precludes any reading of GATT that would fundamentally alter the unique status of those resources. My reasoning therefore differs from others who have addressed this issue in that I first examine the broader legal context in which the WTO exists and then consider how that context compels an interpretation of “product” …

Biofuels, Subsidies, And Dispute Settlement In The Wto, Bryant Walker Smith

Bryant Walker Smith

The first WTO panels to tackle a biofuels dispute under the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures will navigate a murky sea of conflict, gridlock, and uncertainty that the subsidies agreement did not contemplate and that the failed Doha round did not resolve. This article charts these waters. It identifies both the values that the panels will confront and the interpretive tools that they will wield. It further argues that dispute settlement may become the primary driver of an otherwise stagnant regime, and it sketches three competing visions for protecting the “legally binding security of expectations” that underscores that regime.