The US and Climate Change Politics

One of the biggest issues in US climate change policy is the fact that climate change is an international issue, and therefore needs to be negotiated on the world stage. However, the United States is very nationalistic in the sense that it does not like to be held to account by international bodies, such as the UN. While Presidential administrations have been looking for international solutions to the issue of climate change through acts such as the Kyoto Protocol under Clinton, there is very little chance that the US will ever ratify either Kyoto or a treaty which is similar, regardless of content. While the absolute insistence of protecting US sovereignty is one issue, another is the feasibility of several climate change agreements, such as the recent Obama-Xi deal where the US and China pledged to cut carbon emissions. For one, the odds of the American government passing legislation (since this isn't a treaty, only legislation is required for now) are minuscule, both due to Obama's weak political position and the Republican Party's unwillingness to act on climate change due to the perceived threat of any legislation to US jobs, and the chance that China could easily renege on the deal. Therefore, it is unlikely that the US will, in the near future, be willing or able to pass any sort of international or domestic legislation that deals with climate change.