WTO Ruling Against India's Solar Push Threatens Climate, Clean Energy

[nationalize the fed]

"The U.S. should be applauding India’s efforts to scale up solar energy—not turning to the WTO to strike the program down."

Nadia Prupis | CommonDreams.org | August 27, 2015

The World Trade Organization (WTO) on Wednesday ruled against India over its national solar energy program in a case brought by the U.S. government, sparking outrage from labor and environmental advocates.


India's ambitious solar program was rebuked by the WTO in a decision that climate advocates say shows the potential damage of deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership. (Photo: Knut-Erik Helle/flickr/cc)

As power demands grow in India, the country's government put forth a plan to create 100,000 megawatts of energy from solar cells and modules, and included incentives to domestic manufacturers to use locally-developed equipment.

According to Indian news outlets, the WTO ruled that India had discriminated against American manufacturers by providing such incentives, which violates global trade rules, and struck down those policies—siding with the U.S. government in a case that the Sierra Club said demonstrates the environmentally and economically destructive power of pro-corporate deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

"Today, we have more evidence of how free trade rules threaten the clean energy economy and undermine action to tackle the climate crisis," Ilana Solomon, director of the Sierra Club's Responsible Trade Program, said on Thursday. "The U.S. should be applauding India’s efforts to scale up solar energy—not turning to the WTO to strike the program down."

According to Indian media outlet Livemint, the U.S. government

has resorted to similar measures, specifying local content requirements and offering a range of subsidies for promoting its renewable energy sector at the federal, state, regional and local levels.

India spoke repeatedly against the US at WTO’s committee on subsidies and countervailing measures, stating that American subsidy schemes relating to local or domestic content requirements for its solar companies are inconsistent with its global trade obligations.

In addition, Livemint reports, the ruling "goes against the spirit of an agreement signed early this year.... [in which] the two sides agreed to promote clean energy and expand solar energy initiatives."

Regardless, Solomon said, the WTO "needs to get out of the business of hampering climate action in countries around the globe. The outdated trade rules on the books now and under negotiation in trade pacts including the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership encourage trade in fossil fuels and discourage countries from developing local clean energy capacity."

"These rules simply do not reflect the urgency of solving the climate crisis and stand in the way of clean energy growth," Solomon said.

The Indian government will appeal the decision to the WTO's highest court, the appellate body. It is the second time that the WTO has ruled against India in a case with the U.S., which first brought legal action against the country's food security program in 2014.

The WTO ruled on that case in June, when it decided that the Indian ban on certain foods from the U.S. was "inconsistent with the global norms."

Note: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License
http://commondreams.org/news/2015/08/27/wto-ruling-against-indias-solar-push-threatens-climate-clean-energy

WTO rules against India in solar panels dispute with the US
http://www.livemint.com/Politics/11yE8Bz6bgZZ6LhXXlB8eL/WTO-panel-rules-against-India-in-solar-dispute.html



From the Comments:

MHunter 20 hours ago

Just a precursor to the hell that the TPP and similar trade deals with create. At this rate there won't won't be any legacy of humanity aside from a dead planet and bunches of useless green cloth

Laurenceofberk 18h

India should INDICT the corporate judges of the WTO for vandalism and treason against the planet, and send out agents to arrest them

Laurenceofberk 18h

The project of the the World Trade Organization is to remove economic sovereignty of nations, which the international corporate elite call "socialism," and place it in their own fascist hands.

In other words, the Cold War is not over. It has just been given a new name: GLOBALIZATION.

x-post GD

[kristopher]

1. No, it doesn't threaten the climate. It almost certainly is good for solar.

First, the installation of solar isn't being attacked. What is at issue is the 'local content' stipulation of the program.

Second, their transmission capabilities are severely constrained and the amount of time and money needed to upgrade the transmission system is much greater than pushing growth in distributed solar. The solar program the government is engaged in is Needed to provide Power and will be built to service that need - the WTO case will not derail plans to grow solar in India.

Third, the effect of ruling against the local content requirement will be More Solar, not less. These programs usually have a cost limit. So, simply put, the money allocated to promote a buildout of solar will buy more panels if the panels cost less. This means that the fight against climate change is the winner, not the loser.

Finally, the true cost in this case is going to be paid by India's domestic solar manufacturing sector. They lose jobs.

No, I do not support the TPP. I'm sharing this because it is important to know what is actually happening or your criticisms will be rejected out of hand.

[Agnosticsherbet]

2. The WTO decision did not stop Inda from using reknewables or clean energy or their program

Read the article form livemint listed above in the OP.

This dispute was about a policy against using solar panels made by American Companies.

Geneva/New Delhi: A World Trade Organization (WTO) panel has ruled against India in a dispute raised by the US over the country’s solar power programme, requiring the government to offer a level playing field to both foreign and domestic manufacturers of solar panels.

***SNIP***

The US raised the dispute over the Indian government’s imposition of local content requirements for solar cells and solar modules. The government has offered financial support of up to Rs.1 crore per megawatt (MW) to the implementing agency for setting up large solar capacities by placing orders with domestic manufacturers.

Commondreams really screwed the pooch on this story.