A European Perspective on recent trends in US climate policy

Abstract: Without the participation of the United States, for many years the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, mitigation of global climate change seems hardly conceivable. Despite the US rejection of the Kyoto Protocol and the reluctance of the Bush administration to engage in post-Kyoto negotiations, recent developments suggest that the US position towards climate policy might change in the medium run. This study provides an overview on current trends in US climate policy. We outline the main elements of national climate policy proposals and state-level initiatives. Based on this overview, recent trends in US climate policy are related to the European approach to combat climate change. Furthermore, we elaborate on the aspects that may be important for Europe to design its own domestic and international climate policy in order to achieve the long-term global goal of stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations. While it seems likely that the US will take a leading role in international climate policy, it can also be expected to challenge the European position in many respects rather than to simply support any Kyoto-type process.