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Since the signing of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992, the United States has shown a sometimes conservative and sometimes radical pendulum in its position on several key subsidiary climate treaties. For example, in 1997, the United States Congress refused to approve the Kyoto Protocol signed by former US vice president Al Gore. In 2015, President Obama used executive power to bypass Congress to sign the Paris Agreement. In 2017, President Trump announced the withdrawal of the US from the Paris Agreement. These seemingly confusing behaviors actually reflect the contradictions and conflicts in the formulation of climate policy of the United States. Using neoclassical realism theory as the analytical framework, the authors of this paper explore how such several key variables as leader image and perception, partisan politics, and civil society and lobbying groups shape the climate policy of the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of carbon neutrality, the BRICS countries, representatives of emerging developing countries, have proposed their own adaptation policies and carbon emission reduction targets (CERT). Here, we sort out the evolution of their climate policies and actions over the past half-century. After piecing together their energy structures and carbon emissions from various sources and by different sectors, we see distinct energy structures diverging over time with increasing varieties of non-fossil energy. However, all the BRICS countries, except for Brazil, still rely heavily on fossil fuels, which poses a real challenge to emission reduction. After considering their diversified energy structures, we estimate their timelines for achieving the carbon neutrality goal using the Greenhouse Gas and Air Pollution Interactions and Synergies (GAINS) model. From the model output, we propose possible solutions to help achieve the carbon neutrality goal with respect to their individual status quo and future needs for socioeconomic development. The suggestions include reinforcing the legislation, strengthening cooperation in the fields of energy and carbon management and in core technologies for carbon emission reduction, improving the cooperation mechanisms of the BRICS countries, and further expanding all-round cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]