[Carry_Okie]

They can sign anything they want at Copenhagen, unless it gets ratified by the Sentate, it won’t mean a thing.

According to the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (which we ratified), all it takes is a signature.

[your local physicist]

It looks like the guy who wrote that web page is somewhat alarmist. Based on this paragraph it sounds like a treaty has to be ratified to take effect:

"2.For the purposes of paragraph 1:

(a) the initialling of a text constitutes a signature of the treaty when it is established that the negotiating States so agreed;

(b) the signature ad referendum of a treaty by a representative, if confirmed by his State, constitutes a full signature of the treaty.

Note the phrase, "if confirmed by his State." That sounds like senate ratification to me. I also disagree with the author's statement that Bush was implementing programs to cut CO2 emissions. He really wasn't doing anything serious to cut CO2 emissions. It was just talk about possibly using a cap and trade approach and talk about how our energy efficiency has been improving over time.

In the final analysis, what we do about CO2 reductions depends on the voters, because we don't have to follow any treaty unless it's ratified by the senate and the UN doesn't have the muscle to force us to do anything just because Dear Leader signed a piece of paper. They don't have the troops to enforce it. We're the military superpower; not the UN. Obama will be gone in 2012 and our long-term policy on "climate change" will be determined by the US public and congress.

[NavVet]

Actually, we didn't ratify the Vienna Convention, but consider much of it customary international law.

http://www.state.gov/s/l/treaty/faqs/70139.htm

Also, our ratification requirement is contained in our Constitution and is well known. We have singed lots of treaties, LOST, Vienna Convention etc, and have never ratified them.

The president also has no authority to promise implementing legislation in a treaty, although he can agree to seek implementing legislation if required.

A treaty such as Copenhagen that would require massive new spending programs isn't something the president could agree to in a simple executive agreement. He would have to go the treaty route and that means going through the Senate.