Rethinking the Global Trade Order: Law, Sustainability, and Governance in the Twenty-First Century

Author

Rafael Leal-Arcas

ISBN: 9781049418407

Published: 2026

Format: Hardcover

Language: English

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Description

International trade is usually discussed as a driver of emissions and environmental pressure. This book argues the opposite case: that well-designed trade rules can be used to address climate change, energy insecurity and sustainable development. Rafael Leal-Arcas integrates international trade law with sustainability policy to offer a coherent, interdisciplinary framework for understanding what trade can do in the global energy transition.

Drawing on multilateral, regional and bilateral examples, the author carries out legal analyses of trade agreements as instruments of climate change mitigation. He explains how trade can facilitate access to clean energy technologies, promote renewable energy deployment and contribute to long-term economic and social development, and why the governance of global trade is decisive for meeting climate goals.

Part of the Rethinking Law series, this 174-page volume offers sustained legal and policy analysis for readers who need to see trade law, environmental law and energy policy as one connected field.

Key Features

• An interdisciplinary framework that links international trade law, climate policy and energy policy
• Legal analysis of multilateral, regional and bilateral trade agreements as climate mitigation instruments
• Practical assessment of how trade rules can widen access to clean energy technologies and support renewable energy deployment
• A direct challenge to the view that trade has only a negative impact on the environment
• Concrete input for policymakers designing trade agreements that support climate objectives

Coverage

The book covers international cooperation and the governance of global public goods; the interlinkages between international trade, climate change and energy policy; and trade agreements as instruments of sustainability, including the policy paradox this raises. It applies these themes to three practical questions: how trade agreements can be drafted to support climate goals, how they can open access to clean energy technologies, and how they can accelerate renewable energy deployment.

About the Author

Rafael Leal-Arcas is Jean Monnet Chaired Professor of EU International Economic Law and Professor of Law and Public Policy at Alfaisal University, College of Law and International Relations, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Table of Contents

1 Rethinking the global trade order: Introduction — 2 International cooperation and the governance of global public goods — 3 Interlinkages between international trade, climate change, and energy policy — 4 Trade agreements as instruments of sustainability: Exploring a policy paradox — 5 Outlook

Why buy this book?

Trade law, environmental law and energy policy are usually shelved and studied apart, yet the climate transition forces them into the same conversation. This short, focused volume gives law, trade and public policy collections a single treatment of how trade agreements can serve climate objectives, written by a specialist in international economic law. It pairs naturally with titles on WTO law, environmental law and energy regulation already held by academic law libraries.

Keywords

international trade law, global trade governance, climate change and trade, energy transition, trade agreements, sustainable development, renewable energy, clean energy technologies, international economic law, environmental law

Target Audience

Scholars and students of international trade law and environmental law, policy analysts and practitioners in international organizations, policymakers negotiating trade agreements, international lawyers, academic law libraries

Genre

International Trade, International Law, Environmental Law, Climate Change Policy, Energy Policy, Sustainable Development

Q&A

What does Rethinking the Global Trade Order cover?
It examines how international trade law can be used to address climate change, energy insecurity and sustainable development, analysing multilateral, regional and bilateral trade agreements as instruments of climate mitigation and of the global energy transition.

Does international trade harm the environment, according to the book?
The author challenges the traditional view that trade only has a negative environmental impact, arguing that well-designed trade rules can help facilitate access to clean energy technologies and promote renewable energy deployment.

How can trade agreements support climate goals?
The book evaluates examples from multilateral, regional and bilateral frameworks and explains how trade agreements can be designed to support climate objectives, while also exploring the policy paradox that arises when trade and sustainability goals collide.

Which legal fields does the book connect?
International trade law, environmental law and energy policy, brought together in one interdisciplinary framework on the role of trade in the global energy transition.

Who should read Rethinking the Global Trade Order?
Scholars and students of international trade law and environmental law, policy analysts and practitioners in international organizations, and policymakers working on the design of trade agreements.

Where can I buy Rethinking the Global Trade Order?
Rethinking the Global Trade Order is available now from CLNZ Books, with worldwide shipping and secure payment by credit card or PayPal.

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