Date: 2023
Type: Article
The extraterritorial effects of EU law in the context of green transition : comments on CBAM and the proposed CSDDD
Chinese journal of European studies, 2023, Vol. 41, No. 6, pp. 34-57
YE, Bin, YANG, Kunhao, The extraterritorial effects of EU law in the context of green transition : comments on CBAM and the proposed CSDDD, Chinese journal of European studies, 2023, Vol. 41, No. 6, pp. 34-57
- https://hdl.handle.net/1814/76556
Retrieved from Cadmus, EUI Research Repository
This article contends that extraterritorial effects feature in recent EU legislation in the domain of Green Transition. As a response to global issues like environmental governance and climate change, the EU has recently introduced a set of unilateral environmental legislation, in which non-economic policies are deeply embedded in external trade rules by harnessing access to the internal market and supply chain to externalise its sustainability standards. Taking the examples of the EU’s Regulation on Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the proposed Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), we find that these laws seek to address environmental problems in third countries and influence the behaviours of foreign actors. They regulate certain actors within the EU but take related foreign circumstances into account, such as pollution and environmental damages occurring in third countries. The extraterritorial effects of EU law, of which the legal basis is fuelled by the external dimension of the EU’s internal policy and international-rule orientation, rely on a similar mechanism, which consists of three consecutive phases, that is, the Directly Regulated Actors, the Extraterritorial Extension of the Applicable Scope, and the External Objectives. On this basis, this article concludes that this extended-range mechanism can provide insights into how the EU utilises its normative power to address cross-border environmental problems and promote sustainability standards internationally and in third countries, but its actual effectiveness is contingent on the EU’s interaction with third countries. It is suggested that China use this kind of mechanism for reference in developing its own foreign-related legal toolbox. Moreover, the EU’s Green Transition may offer policy potentials for promoting bilateral cooperation between China and the EU in collaboratively combating environmental and climate challenges. However, China should be mindful of the potential negative spill-over effects arising from these unilateral legal tools.
Additional information:
Published: 15 December 2023
Cadmus permanent link: https://hdl.handle.net/1814/76556
ISSN: 1004-9789
Publisher: Social Science Academic Press
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