Kyoto and Geneva: Linkage of the Climate Change Regime and the Trade Regime.

The multilateral regime to address the problem of global climate change is manifest in the Kyoto Protocol, negotiated in that city in 1997, and likely soon to enter into force. The multilateral regime to address international trade is manifest in the World Trade Organization, established in Geneva in 1995. Are these two regimes likely to come into conflict? This short paper considers some of the potential conflicts, and also some of the potential complementarities. The overall picture is more optimistic than some pro-environment critics of the WTO fear.