ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the nature of the international arena, the major global energy issues, and the cooperative arrangements in the energy and environmental sectors among the United States, other countries, and regional and international organizations and forums. International economic and geopolitical problems, policies, and a variety of international “actors” have a significant influence on the crafting of US energy policy. Scholars of international affairs use the concept of regimes to define the frameworks within which such action occurs. The concept of the international environmental regime is important since coordinated global action on climate change is likely to take place through such a regime. The small number of formal international energy regimes reflects the reality that key energy sources are traded commodities, and that the markets for these commodities, though imperfect, have functioned reasonably well. Negotiations during the Copenhagen conference did not go smoothly and few participating nations went away from the conference happy.
