THE CLIMATE VACUUM

A U.S. retreat won't stop global climate efforts, but even the leaders who met at COP29 don't know what's coming next

- JUSTIN WORLAND/BAKU

THE ANNUAL U.N. CLIMATE-CHANGE SUMMITS are always a little crazy: tens of thousands of delegates descending on a far-flung city for two weeks of discussion on the future of climate policy. This time around, the conference-known this year as COP29-was nothing short of surreal. In Baku, Azerbaijan, you could take a five-minute walk from the luxurious Russian pavilion, where delegates sipped tea on sofas amid human-size Russian dolls, to the Ukrainian pavilion, decorated with a solar panel destroyed by Russian armaments. At most COPS, attendees look for heads of state or celebrities; in Baku, delegates watched for the TalibanAfghanistan's delegation. In the first week, the Argentinian delegation returned home at the direction of the country's right-wing President; the French Environment Minister did not attend because of a diplomatic dispute with the host country. And the entire event began with Azerbaijan's President describing fossil fuels as "a gift from God."