A view from the United States.

The US plays an important role in international negotiations on climate change. Fortunately, the role of the US has evolved from that of laggard to leader. Having reduced emissions significantly in recent years, the US is promising substantially more and encouraging other countries to do the same as part of the next international agreement. In this chapter, I provide a high-level view on the state of climate-change affairs from the US perspective. My aim is to briefly cover selected topics that help explain progress, opportunities, and challenges for the US. The topics include public opinion and domestic politics; trends in domestic emissions and policy; the US’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) and the importance of matching ambition; climate finance; and expectations for success in Paris.