WTO Members, Not the Appellate Body, Need to Clarify Boundaries in Renewable Energy Support

The document critiques a May 6, 2013, WTO Appellate Body ruling regarding a dispute between Japan, the European Union, and Canada (Ontario) over renewable energy measures. The author contends that the ruling failed to provide necessary legal clarification on WTO rules for sustainable energy and may have created a problematic carve-out in the subsidy agreement. Consequently, the text argues that the responsibility for defining the boundaries of appropriate state incentives for renewable energy lies with WTO members rather than the Appellate Body.

• The May 6, 2013, WTO Appellate Body ruling on renewable energy generation measures, stemming from a dispute involving Japan, the European Union, and Canada (Ontario), did not offer the expected legal interpretation of WTO rules for sustainable energy and potentially introduced a problematic carve-out in the subsidy agreement.
• The author argues that the task of clarifying the boundaries for state support of renewable energy should be undertaken by WTO members instead of the Appellate Body.

APA

Moerenhout,, L. C. (2013). WTO Members, Not the Appellate Body, Need to Clarify Boundaries in Renewable Energy Support. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/wto-members-not-appellate-body-need-clarify-boundaries-renewable-energy

Chicago

Moerenhout,, Liesbeth Casier,Tom. WTO Members, Not the Appellate Body, Need to Clarify Boundaries in Renewable Energy Support. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2013. https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/wto-members-not-appellate-body-need-clarify-boundaries-renewable-energy.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Moerenhout, |first1=Liesbeth Casier,Tom |title=WTO Members, Not the Appellate Body, Need to Clarify Boundaries in Renewable Energy Support |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=24 July 2013 |url=https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/wto-members-not-appellate-body-need-clarify-boundaries-renewable-energy |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{moerenhout2013wto, author = {Moerenhout,, Liesbeth Casier,Tom}, title = {{WTO Members, Not the Appellate Body, Need to Clarify Boundaries in Renewable Energy Support}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2013}, month = jul, url = {https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/wto-members-not-appellate-body-need-clarify-boundaries-renewable-energy}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }