To ban or not to ban carbon-intensive materials: A legal and administrative assessment of product carbon requirements

Gerres T, Haußner M, Neuhoff K, Pirlot A (2021)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2021

Journal

Review of European, Comparative & International Environmental Law John Wiley & Sons Ltd

DOI: 10.1111/reel.12395

Abstract

By setting near-zero-emission requirements for the production of certain products to be sold on the European single market (product carbon requirements, PCRs), the European Union could accelerate the phase-out of carbon-intensive production processes. The announcement of such requirements would send a signal to producers, financing institutions and other relevant stakeholders, thus incentivizing them to prepare for the shift to a carbon-neutral society. This article analyses several European environmental standards and technical regulations to offer insights into the political, legal and technical background for the adoption of PCRs. It shows that PCRs would constitute a new development in technical regulations. Given the relevance of World Trade Organization law for the adoption of standards and technical regulations on products, the article analyses in further detail the compatibility of PCRs under WTO law, and argues that PCRs can be designed in line with the provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade.

Authors with CRIS profile

Manuel Haußner Lehrstuhl für Steuerrecht und Öffentliches Recht

Involved external institutions

Universidad Pontificia Comillas ES Spain (ES) University of Oxford GB United Kingdom (GB) Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, DIW Berlin DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Gerres, T., Haußner, M., Neuhoff, K., & Pirlot, A. (2021). To ban or not to ban carbon-intensive materials: A legal and administrative assessment of product carbon requirements. Review of European, Comparative & International Environmental Law. https://doi.org/10.1111/reel.12395

MLA:

Gerres, Timo, et al. "To ban or not to ban carbon-intensive materials: A legal and administrative assessment of product carbon requirements." Review of European, Comparative & International Environmental Law (2021).

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