Global “Leaders” Reach Climate Change Deal

As the BBC reports, “a meeting in Washington of global political leaders has reached a new agreement on tackling climate change.” The meeting included representatives from the key non-Kyoto Treaty countries, the U.S. and China. So have we finally reached a breakthrough on global climate change policy?



Nope. At least not yet. The meeting in Washington D.C. was held between legislators from the leading economies of the world. Hence, from the U.S., legislators like Senator John McCain and Senator John Kerry attended. Facilitated by GLOBE (“Global Legislators Organisation for a Balanced Environment), the meeting cannot and did not generate a legally binding international agreement. (And given that non-Kyoto countries like the U.S. have, on average, been reducing greenhouse gas emissions faster than Kyoto countries, this may even be a good thing (see here for the WSJ($) editorial on this point)).



Still, the GLOBE resolutions could be important. Plainly, this type of gathering is part of the informal alliance of intergovernmental networks popularized by Dean Anne-Marie Slaughter in her work. In this case, legislators are working together to try to shift global policy, even if they cannot formally act together via international agreement. Whether this type of legislator-network is a salutary trend remains difficult to say, but it is certainly something to keep an eye on.