Among the important lessons driven home at the COP 15 in Copenhagen is that climate change has shifted from being primarily defined as an environmental problem, to global high politics commanding the attention of Presidents and Prime Ministers. With climate change gaining a place amid a mix of issues that include energy security, competitiveness, labor market effects, geopolitics, and foreign policy ambitions, the possible political pathways toward climate-sustainable solutions are best analyzed and understood in relation to this broader context. That context entails 1) the wider scope of economic and political issues shaping national policy priorities and which encourage or constrain relevant actors, 2) the nature and dynamics of individual countries'' political systems, and 3) the range of interactions within and between nations (including convergences as well as contradictions) based on how they construe and prioritize climate change in relation to the other key issues noted above. This paper offers a comparative analysis of the complex mix of factors conditioning the climate negotiating options available to Brazil and the USA. Both important players in the global climate negotiations, these countries represent contrasting examples of dominent factors influencing the development of climate policy, yet with noteworthy similarities. In particular, we examine the physical-structural conditions (climatic conditions, energy consumption, and GHG emissions) that set the fundamental parameters for economic activity; the social-structural conditions (institutional and administrative arrangements that regulate political engagement); and shifting political alliances. These components interact to reinforce and block one another in complex multi-level political processes.
