Tackling climate challenges

Instead of uniting the world in solidarity for a livable planet, the two-week COP 27 United Nations climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, has shown that the mechanism of international cooperation on climate change is at risk of backsliding.

At COP 26 held in Glasgow, Scotland, late last year, there was still overall optimism on integrating economic and environmental goals, despite the differences among countries. However, at COP 27, the mood has clearly changed, with what should have been a coordinated response to the common challenge being downgraded.

Over the past year, the clock has been wound back by many countries, particularly the United States, as they have embraced fossil fuels more tightly, causing last year's climate agreement to fall apart.