A hellish future is predicted, but the world continues to take small steps to address the climate crisis

There is a risk that enumerating the climate shocks experienced this year – extreme weather events, the appalling consequences of unrelenting warming and the destruction of human lives – will only lead to overwhelming destruction amid attempts to mount an adequate global response. There may be better reasons for hope elsewhere, including indications that Cop28 hosts, the United Arab Emirates, have an ambitious agenda for the UN process, in which nearly 200 countries are trying to forge a coordinated response to the climate crisis. Cop28 has arguably the most comprehensive, action-oriented plan since Cop21, which produced the Paris Agreement in 2015. Cop27 last year was shamefully treading water – further evidence that it has become a bloated process – apart from providing for “loss and damage”. (Kevin O'Sullivan)