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This article analyses whether the European Union could lawfully enact border adjustments for energy taxes vis-à-vis other industrialised countries that are not party to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change without violating world trade law, in particular the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM Agreement). We outline the rationale for border adjustments for energy taxes and conclude that despite remaining ambiguity in both the legal provisions and the pertinent case law, energy-related border tax adjustments are under certain circumstances compatible with world trade law. ; In diesem Artikel wird untersucht, ob die Europäische Union bestehende und künftig drohende Wettbewerbsnachteile infolge nationaler Energiesteuern mit Hilfe von Grenzausgleichssteuern (Border Tax Adjustments, BTA) gegenüber Nichtunterstützerstaaten des Kyoto-Protokolls von 1997 neutralisieren kann, ohne in Konflikt mit dem geltenden Welthandelsrecht zu geraten, insbesondere mit dem Allgemeinen Zoll- und Handelsabkommen (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, GATT) und dem Subventionsabkommen (Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, SCM Agreement). Unsere Analyse kommt zu dem Ergebnis, dass trotz verbleibender Unklarheiten im Vertragsrecht und der Rechtsprechung der Grenzausgleich von Energiesteuern unter bestimmten Voraussetzungen im Einklang mit dem Welthandelsrecht steht.

This paper addresses German energy policy instruments and their compatibility with WTO rules. Germany and the EU are forerunners in international climate change policy and driving forces behind the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. German energy policy includes approaches to foster electricity generation from renewable resources. Our major question is whether both the policy tools currently applied (standards, taxes and subsidies) and those under consideration (labels, green certificates and border tax adjustment) are compatible with WTO rules. Our findings are that currently neither the design nor the application of the policy instruments are in conflict with WTO rules. However, the setting of production standards for electricity supply is the crucial issue in this debate and if trade in electricity increases, so will the potential for conflict. Rejecting imports because of the way electricity was produced could lead to disputes and to a need for settlements by the WTO legal system. Moreover, when introducing tools like green certificates or border tax adjustments, it is important to find the balance between effectively fostering the reduction of global emissions and eligibility under WTO law.