Editorial: Climate summit, an annual ritual

At the upcoming COP30 in Belém, Brazil, the goal remains the same: to tackle rising temperatures and emissions

One cannot be faulted for being sceptical, even pessimistic, about the outcome of the upcoming global climate summit — the Conference of the Parties (COP30) — to be held in Belém, Brazil. The reasons for despair are not far to seek: the climate crisis is worsening by the day, with atmospheric carbon dioxide levels reaching new highs and global temperatures surpassing the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold. Despite lofty announcements, nations have failed to mitigate the crisis and save people from the brunt of extreme weather events. Since the Paris Agreement was signed a decade ago, the global carbon dioxide emissions have actually increased from about 39.6 billion tonnes to abou