Working to advance aggressive, impactful U.S. and international climate- change policy, the Nature Conservancy finds itself at a watershed. With encouraging exceptions that included increased enthusiasm and funding for REDD+, the results of the UNFCCC’s much-anticipated Copenhagen Conference left many disappointed and suggested that smaller groupings of countries may, in the future, represent more feasible venues for meaningful future action. And in the U.S., the failure of Congress to pass an energy and climate bill in 2010 has led to new realities that must be taken into account.

What has not changed, however, is the gravity of the climate change threat and the need to press on, with increased commitment, to shape and build support for policy instruments that will ameliorate this threat and protect our planet and its people. At this critical time, the Nature Conservancy is undertaking a reassessment of its climate-policy strategies and tactics as a foundational step in the implementation of approaches that (1) attack the issue at multiple scales, (2) are designed to achieve specific, strategic mitigation goals, (3) demonstrate concept readiness and (4) build broader support for action.