International trade and climate change: economic, legal, and institutional perspectives: overview

THE ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, AND DEVELOPMENTAL consequences of climate change have received increasing recognition worldwide. The Stern Review (2006) notes that climate change is a serious and urgent problem, global in its cause and consequences. Current actions are not enough if we are to stabilize greenhouse gases (GHGs) at any acceptable level. The economic challenges are complex and will require a long-term international collaboration to tackle them. The recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) also categorically states that the impacts of climate change will vary regionally, but aggregated and discounted to the present, they are very likely to impose net annual costs that will increase over time as global temperatures increase (IPCC 2007). The Kyoto Protocol remains the key international mechanism under which the industrial countries have committed to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.