Opinion: COP29 Has Become A sad, Sad Circus Where Big Oil is the Boss

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As a measure of progress against agreements made at earlier Conference of the Parties climate change organized by the UN, many observers have come to the conclusion that the COP29 summit in oil-rich Azerbaijan has not advanced the work needed to slow global warming.

Instead, the gathering is increasingly being viewed as an exercise in finger-pointing as nations drop their earlier goals and fossil fuel companies describe the future of energy as belonging to them.

In other words, green energy has taken a back seat.

Recent bad news about climate change appears to have had no effect, with 2024 set to be the hottest year on record, with major impacts on food production and human health. In addition, the Global Carbon Project says that CO2 emissions continue to rise, and urges governments to take unprecedented action to slow the pollution disaster.

The Trump effect
Another key issue is that none of the world’s leaders appears to have the will or the power to twist the arms of other nations; meanwhile, the U.S. under President-elect Trump may completely withdraw from international efforts to slow global warming and the world’s other two largest polluters, China and India, have not indicated they will step forward to fill the vacuum.

As the world’s leaders gather for a final photo at the end of these meetings, some of them should be red-faced because they have yet to honor climate change pledges that are now a decade old.