The fine balance of local and global action

The conclusion of a report on a new co-operative venture between cities in Brazil, Mexico and California is well-put:

Research suggests that, while the growing experimentation with subnational climate-change responses is a result of a growing disillusionment with the international process, it is reliant on continued forms of international cooperation. For example, in the case of California, Chiapas and Acre, cooperation has been spurred by the emergence of carbon offsetting, carbon markets and the idea of REDD, all of which stem from the international arena and without which any subnational cooperation would be unthinkable. Ironically, then, subnational action on climate change is reliant on both the failure and the success of international cooperation, and it is likely that the fine balance between these two extremes will dictate the nature and extent of future subnational cooperation in this field.