New Storylines Emerging From Climate Negotiations

This briefing from Friends of the Earth analyzes the geopolitical dynamics surrounding the October 2010 UN climate negotiations in Tianjin, China. It argues that the lack of domestic climate legislation in the United States has eroded its international bargaining power, potentially leading other nations to pursue mitigation efforts without U.S. involvement and increasing the leverage of developing countries.

• The United States is the only wealthy nation that has not ratified the Kyoto Protocol, which is the sole international climate instrument featuring legally binding emission reduction targets. The U.S. promoted the nonbinding "Copenhagen Accord" in December 2009 as a "bottom-up" alternative, which the document describes as an attempt to replace the Protocol with a "far weaker substitute."
• The absence of U.S. domestic climate legislation has diminished the Obama administration's credibility and leverage in international talks. This has led to increased criticism of the U.S. and may encourage other countries to move forward on mitigation without U.S. participation. Additionally, the U.S. has used climate finance as a bargaining chip, threatening to withhold funds from countries like Bolivia and Ecuador that opposed the Copenhagen Accord.
• While China produces more total greenhouse gas emissions than the U.S., its per capita emissions were significantly lower in 2008 (4.9 metric tons compared to 19.2 for the U.S.). The document notes that China is investing more aggressively in clean energy, with 34 percent of its 2009 stimulus package considered green, compared to an estimated 12 percent of the U.S. 2009 stimulus.
• A September 9, 2010, petition by the United Steelworkers alleging that China violated international trade law via clean energy subsidies may impact UN negotiations. The document suggests this creates a contradiction where China is attacked for the very actions the U.S. demanded, and warns that such trade disputes could conflict with UNFCCC requirements for wealthy nations to help developing countries build clean energy industries.

APA

Orenstein, K. (2010). New Storylines Emerging From Climate Negotiations. Friends of the Earth. https://foe.org/news/2010-09-new-storylines-emerging-from-climate-negotiations/

Chicago

Orenstein, Karen. New Storylines Emerging From Climate Negotiations. Friends of the Earth, 2010. https://foe.org/news/2010-09-new-storylines-emerging-from-climate-negotiations/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Orenstein |first1=Karen |title=New Storylines Emerging From Climate Negotiations |publisher=Friends of the Earth |date=22 September 2010 |url=https://foe.org/news/2010-09-new-storylines-emerging-from-climate-negotiations/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{orenstein2010new, author = {Orenstein, Karen}, title = {{New Storylines Emerging From Climate Negotiations}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth}, year = {2010}, month = sep, url = {https://foe.org/news/2010-09-new-storylines-emerging-from-climate-negotiations/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }