Strategic analysis of the Kyoto Protocol

Systems methodologies for analyzing independent behavior and coalition formation under conflict are employed to examine the strategic impact of the decision of the United States not to sign the Kyoto Protocol upon the preferences and attitudes of Russia. The reduction of greenhouse gases to control climate change is a complex system of systems problem involving not only environmental factors but also social, economic and political issues among industrial and developing nations. The Kyoto Protocol of 1997 was an attempt to provide economic and political incentives for nations to join a coalition for the reduction of emission levels. The analysis of this conflict demonstrates the influence that the United States had on the Kyoto Protocol and the effects of international relationships in forming a working coalition to combat climate change.