Recent years have witnessed a rise in conflict between WTO members over the use of state subsidies designed to promote the renewable energy sector. Government subsidies are seen by domestic polic-ymakers as a key catalyst in attracting foreign investment, building capacity, and meeting other domestic policy goals. However, subsidies and other state incentivization programmes often carry trade-distorting effects. This paper examines the current state of WTO law and jurisprudence on subsidies extended to achieve environmental goals, in particular the Canada-Renewable Energy/Feed-in Tariff case and the more recent India-Solar Cells case which higlights the localization problem in the renewable energy sector. The case outcome shows that the WTO continues to maintain the status quo by prioritizing free trade over environmental considerations. The paper also discusses the possibility of reform in the GATT/WTO framework for promotion of renewable energy initiatives while maintaining the integrity of the system.

中文翻译：

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可再生能源领域的“反向许可”：超越美印太阳能电池之争

近年来，世贸组织成员之间在使用旨在促进可再生能源部门的国家补贴方面的冲突有所增加。国内政策制定者将政府补贴视为吸引外国投资、建设能力和实现其他国内政策目标的关键催化剂。然而，补贴和其他国家激励计划往往会产生贸易扭曲效应。本文研究了 WTO 法律和判例对为实现环境目标而提供补贴的现状，特别是加拿大-可再生能源/上网电价案例和最近的印度-太阳能电池案例凸显了可再生能源领域的本土化问题。案例结果表明，世贸组织继续维持现状，将自由贸易置于环境考虑之上。本文还讨论了在 GATT/WTO 框架中进行改革的可能性，以促进可再生能源倡议，同时保持系统的完整性。