United States, developing countries, and climate protection

The paper asserts that effective climate protection requires leadership from countries with historical responsibility, specifically the United States. It highlights a contradiction where the U.S. seeks developing country commitments while financing carbon-intensive investments in those nations. The authors propose that the U.S. should foster technical cooperation, support climate-friendly policies that align with economic development, and reduce its own greenhouse gas output to create a catalyst for global action and gain a competitive edge in clean technologies.

• Near-term climate protection depends on the leadership of a small number of countries that possess both the capability to act and historical responsibility for the issue, which would then enable a dialogue regarding the involvement of developing nations.
• The United States currently pursues a contradictory approach by demanding commitments from developing countries while simultaneously providing billions of dollars in funding for carbon-intensive investments within those same countries.
• Reducing the United States' own high greenhouse gas emissions is described as a prerequisite for global climate protection and a necessary catalyst to encourage other nations to increase their efforts.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). United States, developing countries, and climate protection. https://www.wri.org/research/united-states-developing-countries-and-climate-protection

Chicago

World Resources Institute. United States, developing countries, and climate protection. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/united-states-developing-countries-and-climate-protection.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=United States, developing countries, and climate protection |url=https://www.wri.org/research/united-states-developing-countries-and-climate-protection |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendunited, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{United States, developing countries, and climate protection}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/united-states-developing-countries-and-climate-protection}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }