Mark Leonard: COP26 will pay lip service to the cause while the planet burns

UN climate change conferences have failed to produce a model of global governance that can tame power politics, let alone forge a sense of shared destiny among countries. And there is little reason to believe this time will be different

From Brazil and Australia to China and the US, countries are trying to game climate negotiations in order to shift the costs of adaptation onto others. Picture: Ian Forsyth/Getty Images

The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow might conclude with a big international agreement. But whatever tactical successes are achieved, the results are likely to mark a strategic setback for humanity — at least when compared to the hopes of climate activists.

The world is missing target after target. This should not be surprising: while a growing number of countries have set net-zero targets, for example, very few have credible plans to meet them. And even if we did meet existing targets, that would not be enough to achieve the 2015 Paris climate agreement’s main goal: limiting global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

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