The WTO Dispute Settlement System as a Forum for Climate Litigation?

Abstract

This article examines whether and to what extent the Dispute Settlement System (DSS) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) could and should serve as a venue for international climate litigation. The article tackles these questions in three parts. First, it maps the nature and features of a trade-related climate litigation. Second, it considers the prospect of such litigation under existing substantive and procedural rules of the WTO. Third, it investigates whether the WTO DSS should serve as a venue for climate litigation. The article finds that while the prospect of pro- climate litigation remains limited, anti- climate litigation is likely to increase, and that the DSS is an appropriate venue for adjudicating such disputes.