The Shifting Locus of Global Climate Policy Leadership

Over the past two decades and in one area of global policy concern, a shift in global leadership can be observed such as some would see as likely to become typical in a more polycentric 21st century. In this instance, the shift of global leadership is from the United States to the European Union in the domain of climate policy. This change in leadership was not result of any contest and has not be marked by rancour. Instead, it reflected domestic conditions in both the US and the EU, which led the one to abandon the customary leadership role it exercised in the latter half of the 20th century and enabled the other to assume leadership in this domain of global policy concern.

Paper produced within the framework of the IAI project Transworld.