In a recent article for The Washington Post, Strauss Center Distinguished Scholar and LBJ School Professor Josh Busby discusses the 2009 Copenhagen climate change negotiations. Busby argues that while many at the time believed the negotiations to be a failure, the negotations introduced a bottom-up approach to addressing climate change at the international level. Flashing forward to the recent COP 21 summit in Paris, over 179 countries submitted plans based on the Copenhagen approach, including the United States and China.

Busby discusses how the Copenhagen approach came about after the top-down treaty approach failed in the form of the Kyoto Protocols. The failure, Busby asserts, was due in large part to the United States not ratifying the Kyoto Protocols, and the Copenhagen approach reflected in the current Paris talks will avoid concluding a treaty because the U.S. Senate would be unwilling to ratify it.

Nevertheless, Busby acknowledges that the Copenhagen approach has its own deficiencies, particularly with regard to countries like India that are trying to develop an economic infrastructure. Still, Busby asserts that the Copenhagen approach has allowed countries to publically commit themselves to reducing the impact of climate changes.