By Jesse Corradi
4 January 2010

President Obama left Copenhagen with an accord that outlines broad goals for international cooperation on climate change, with the US, China, India, Brazil and South Africa acting outside of the United Nations’ intended negotiating framework. But the climate discussion in Copenhagen created a lot of uncertainty, and the USA has demonstrated its willingness to address climate change issues in an international context differently than before by agreeing to discuss climate policy without the rest of the UNFCCC. That is to say, the US may begin to evaluate alternatives to signing and agreeing to an internationally binding agreement, such as the Kyoto Protocol, by opting to negotiate with select nations independent of the UNFCCC framework.