Law Commons^™

Stakeholder Reaction To Emissions Trading In The United States, The European Union, And The Netherlands, Bryant Walker Smith

Bryant Walker Smith

As a contribution to the debate over market-based environmental regulation, this article examines the reaction of stakeholders to cap-and-trade programs proposed and/or implemented in the United States, the European Union, and the Netherlands for industrial emissions of certain pollutants. Those pollutants include nitrogen oxides (NOX), sulfur dioxide (SO2), mercury (Hg), and greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2). For the purpose of the article, stakeholders include environmental groups, regulators, and particularly industry.

The broad conclusion, to which the remainder of the article provides context, is straightforward: Industry dislikes regulation. It strongly dislikes redundancy. It loathes uncertainty. Even emitters that have …

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.