Is the concept of the nation-state getting in the way?

On the 12th day after Copenhagen a final conclusion came to me….

Will climate agreements will follow the evolution of trade agreements? I believe as trade agreements have evolved beyond the multilateral agreements envisioned when the WTO was formed in 1995 toward a wide variety of regional/local trade agreements, so too will, will climate agreements.
Multilateral negotiations need to focus on getting the policies/infrastructure right, establishing emissions targets, timing and carbon pricing policies, (managing the commons) but leave bottoms-ups implementation to entities at the local level. A combination of clears goals with flexible execution will address the technological investment challenge, prove to be economically feasible and politically the most practical.
Success in has been achieved at the regional level, in the U.S. California and Sao Paulo, Brazil were strict climate legislation has been put in place in advance of national level legislation without dampening economic development. Many other regional initiatives are being formed, in Asia, Latin America and most recently in New England/Mid-Atlantic regional in the United States. The EU is also moving in this direction as it tries to cope with differences between the oil dependent west and the natural gas dependent east.
Is the concept of the nation-state dead and ready to be cast aside? No, not in our lifetimes, but as with trade & natural resources, there is there is comparative advantage in regional areas on energy & energy resources that dictate a regional approach to implementation within the larger multilateral frame work.