ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the current political attitude both in the United States and internationally on the climate change issue. It treats the United States and its policy development separately because of its unique nature—over the past two decades its policy has developed independently from the rest of the participating countries; the majority of the other developed countries of the world have gone through a process of cohesion, while the United States has chosen to stand on the sidelines watching, but doing very little politically toward curbing the emission of GHGs. For example, it did not join with other countries and adopt the Kyoto Protocol back in 1997. Within the past few years, however, it has taken significant action toward progressive change; which this chapter looks at, specifically what the EPA is doing, the Climate Action Plan, and The Clean Power Plan. It then shifts to an international perspective and examines the progress of key countries, as well as provides an overview of the Paris Climate Agreement; a historic advance forward for the management of climate change.
