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Climate change is viewed as a global issue, but proposed responses generally require action at the national level. In 1992, the United States ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which called on industrialized countries to take the lead in reducing greenhouse gases. Over the past 16 years, a variety of voluntary and regulatory actions have been proposed or undertaken in the United States, including monitoring of electric utility carbon dioxide emissions, improved appliance efficiency, and incentives for developing renewable energy sources. This report provides background on the evolution of U.S. climate change policy, from ratification of the UNFCCC to the George W. Bush Administration?s 2001 rejection of the Kyoto Protocol to the present. Recent federal court decisions?most notably the Supreme Court?s 2007 decision in Massachusetts v. EPA that the Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to regulate motor vehicle greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act?have raised the issue of whether EPA should directly regulate greenhouse gases. This report focuses on major regulatory programs that monitor or reduce greenhouse gas emissions, along with their estimated effect on emissions levels. The George H. W. Bush, Clinton, and George W. Bush Administrations largely relied on voluntary initiatives ...