The US Senate has made its position clear and unambiguous: Developing countries must participate in the climate treaty.
Participation, according to the 1997 Byrd-Hagel senate resolution means “scheduled commitments to limit or greenhouse gas emissions for Developing Country Parties within the same compliance period” as the US. So the USG has launched a “full court diplomatic press” to win participation. This has hurt the US credibility in the international negotiations and even prevented progress on other important issues. But did the Senate know what it was asking for when it voted 95-0 in favor of this resolution?
