The Politics of Global Climate Change : 9781612057897

In 2009 the US House of Representatives passed legislation requiring reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by 18 percent over the coming decade. Later that year, President Obama went to Copenhagen to sign a treaty requiring further reductions over a two-decade period. The President came back without any firm commitments. This book articulates a multilevel process that starts with local interests and politics to explain how they can influence international negotiations and why President Obama's efforts in Copenhagen were doomed to fail.