The WTO's exception rule for the conservation of exhaustible natural resources traces its roots to the natural resource conservation movement in the United States during the first half of the 20th century,and has since evolved within the global environmental protection movement.Nowadays,the evolutionary interpretation of this rule in precedent cases,coupled with the"necessity"threshold of the exception rule concerning human,animal and plant life health,has positioned GATT XX(g)as a pivotal determinant of the legality of climate measures under WTO rules.Among various concepts,in-cluding"clean air","climate system"related concepts and"natural resources affected by climate change",the concepts related to the"climate system"emerge as a central analytical object.Whether these notions fall under the umbrella of"exhaustible natural resources"merits careful consideration in light of the principle of permanent sovereignty over natural resources.Some uncertainty surrounds whether climate measures,undertaken in the name of tackling climate change,satisfy the criteria of"protection relevance"or"non-discrimination"or not.To an extent,such uncertainty offers the WTO dispute settlement bodies latitude to take into account principles from the international climate change law,specifically the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and the principle of interna-tional cooperation.
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