Columbia Energy Exchange

The ten years since the Paris Agreement was signed at the UN Climate Change Conference, COP 21, have been the ten hottest years on record. And the outcome that the Paris Agreement sought — limiting global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels — is now widely considered unattainable. There are other hurdles as well. Many nations have not submitted climate action plans, or nationally determined contributions, to the UN. And President Trump says he plans to re-withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement. Still, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change marches on. Next week, delegates, activists, and journalists will converge in Belém, Brazil, for the 30th Conference of the Parties, or COP30. So what are some of the possible outcomes of this year's climate summit? Will the absence of the United States even matter? Will the issue of climate equity and financing garner much attention? And what could come from a new forum that Brazil is planning, where governments will discuss how climate