As countries around the globe introduce new strategies to address the effects of climate change on the agriculture sector, greater international coordination and discipline of these policies are increasingly important. Policies to boost renewable energy from agriculture feedstocks, for example, are widespread in the United States and the European Union (EU), despite the uncertainties concerning their impacts on commodity demand, trade flows, water use, and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions.
This article argues that there is a relationship between market-distorting farm policies and the respective level of environmental impact. This is particularly true in the case of policies that are not decoupled from production. Because the problems involving agriculture production and trade are global and systemic in nature, WTO rules play an important role in securing that new forms of agriculture protectionism, justified by legitimate policy objectives, such as climate change mitigation and adaptation, do not jeopardize agriculture trade liberalization.
Journal of World Trade