, Columnist
Why 25 Previous Conferences Have Failed to Stop Climate Change
For COP26, negotiators have extreme climate incidents in their faces and better renewable-energy economics to do something about it.
Serious enough yet? Above: Wildfire near Lytton, British Columbia, on July 2.
Photographer: James MacDonald/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
There have been 25 conferences under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change since the body first met in 1995. Over that period, some 894 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide, about 37% of all greenhouse pollution in human history, has been emitted. What makes anyone think that the 26th meeting starting Oct. 31 — COP26 — will be any more effective?
The answer lies in the age-old challenges of forging major international agreements — and it may be more hopeful than you think.