Post-Kyoto? Post-Bush? Towards an effective 'climate coalition of the willing'

• Published in: International affairs (London) Vol. 82; no. 5; pp. 831 - 860
• Main Author: CHRISTOFF, PETER
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.09.2006; Blackwell Publishers; Oxford University Press
• Subjects: Brazil; China; Climate change; Climate change policy; Coalitions; Effectiveness; Emissions control; Emissions policy; Emissions reduction; Emissions trading; Engagement; Environmental policy; Environmental protection; Environmentalism; Europe; European Union; Global warming; Greenhouse gas emissions; Guideline adherence; India; International cooperation; International relations; International society; Legitimacy; Negotiation; Peoples Republic of China; Pollutant emissions; Treaties; U.S.A; United States of America; United States; US
• ISSN: 0020-5850; 1468-2346
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-2346.2006.00574.x

Weak early compliance with the Kyoto Protocol's current emissions reduction targets and the longer term impact of the US's defection point to emerging problems for the Protocol's effectiveness and legitimacy. This article argues that such problems could in part be addressed by shifting the emphasis of negotiations over the Protocol's second commitment period away from attempts to reengage the United States. Instead, these negotiations and key actors like the European Union should aim for a framework and 'culture of compliance' that actively engage the 'emergent major emitters', China, India and Brazil, either by including them in the Protocol's Annex B list of states, or in a new annex created specially to accommodate them.