theSIGNAL ENVIRONMENT
8 November 2026
"A system that cannot admit its failures cannot be trusted to repair them."
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Environment

Ten Years After Paris, Climate Talks Hit a Wall

As another UN summit approaches, the Paris agreement's missed 1.5C target has many asking whether the Cop process itself still works.

Before last year's climate summit in the Amazonian port of Belém, Brazil's hosts made a surprising decision. They removed from the agenda the very thing most delegates expected to discuss: each country's concrete plan for cutting its greenhouse gas emissions. These plans, the foundation of the Paris agreement, were declared a matter for national governments, not for negotiation. "In that case, it will be a very short Cop," one experienced negotiator from the global south said beforehand.

Another diplomat explained the mood: with the United States out of Paris, countries simply would not engage. The summit did end with a deal, although few people loved it. Yet the divisions opened by Brazil's choice are deepening as this year's meeting approaches, and the evidence behind the unease is hard to dismiss. Governments have promised since 2015 to hold global heating to 1.

5C above preindustrial levels. Temperatures have now exceeded that threshold for two years, and the UN recently said that its most optimistic estimate is about 1.7 to 1.8C of warming.

On its own terms, the Paris agreement has failed. Critics argue that the machinery makes things worse. Negotiating the treaty's "rulebook", the set of instructions for putting it into effect, took more than five years.

Photo: Marwen Larafa / Unsplash
Delegates and UN officials confer at the Cop30 climate summit in Belém, Brazil, last year.
Discuss
  • Brazil removed national emission plans from the negotiating agenda. What might be the advantages and risks of that decision?
  • The Paris agreement missed its 1.5C goal. Does that prove the treaty failed, or that governments failed it?
  • Consensus rules let one state block progress. Would majority voting be fairer, or would it drive countries away?
Science

2024 Broke the 1.5C Barrier

In 2024, Earth passed a threshold scientists had dreaded: the first calendar year more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, according to Europe's Copernicus service. The IPCC attributes the long-term rise to fossil fuels, whose carbon dioxide carries a chemical fingerprint matching what now fills the atmosphere, up more than 50% since industrialisation. Heatwaves, floods and melting glaciers are already intensifying, and 2026 may rank among the hottest years.…
  • If one year can exceed 1.5C, what should governments do differently now?
Science

Lightning Is Changing, and So Are Its Risks

Sixty flashes a second, each briefly hotter than 30,000C: lightning is both a hazard and a planetary engine. It fixes nitrogen for plants, helps clear methane, and drives wildfire cycles from Arnhem Land to Canada. In July, 48,000 strikes ignited fires across North America; about 24,000 people die worldwide each year. As the climate warms, scientists suspect lightning itself is shifting, and the stakes are rising.…
  • If warming increases lightning-sparked wildfires, how should communities from Canada to Australia prepare for them?
"
They have decided that there is no appetite for negotiation, with the US out of Paris.
Anonymous developing-country diplomat, speaking to the Guardian before Cop30
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ASIA · Environment
Cop31 will expose the conflicts and contradictions of the world’s fossil fuel reliance
EUROPE · Environment
Warming UK seas could ‘fundamentally reshape marine ecosystems’ – report
theSIGNAL IN THE LAB
1VOCABULARY
greenhouse gas emissionsconsensus
vetoobstructivethreshold
preindustrialfingerprint
2GRAMMAR FOCUS
Subjunctive mood (mandative subjunctive)
After verbs and adjectives of necessity, demand or recommendation (suggest, insist, essential, vital), the base form of the verb is used in the that-clause, with no -s and no auxiliary: 'It is essential that he be present.' The negative is formed with 'not' before the base form: 'I suggest she not leave.'
be · reduce · not exceed · lose · include · not use · publish
  1. Many small nations insist that every country's emissions plan discussed openly at the summit.
  2. Scientists have long argued that it is vital that average warming 1.5C above preindustrial levels.
  3. One delegate suggested that wealthy governments their greenhouse gas emissions much more quickly.
  4. Critics demand that obstructive states the consensus rule as a weapon to block progress.
  5. It is essential that vulnerable nations their seat at the table, even if the process is flawed.
  6. Environmental groups recommend that the next treaty text binding targets for every major polluter.
3DEPENDENT PREPOSITIONS
Complete each phrase with the correct preposition. All from today’s articles.
  1. Countries simply would not engage ___ the process once the United States left Paris.
  2. The IPCC attributes the long-term rise in temperatures ___ fossil fuels.
  3. Some oil-producing governments have been accused ___ abusing the consensus rule.
  4. Defenders argue that vulnerable nations still have a seat ___ the table.
  5. Lightning is responsible ___ igniting thousands of fires across North America each summer.
4CRITICAL THINKING
Two of today's stories describe threats that were once treated as distant but now appear to be arriving faster than predicted. Why might political systems struggle to respond to slow-moving risks until a dramatic event forces attention, and what does that suggest about how climate information should be communicated to the public? Consider whether striking statistics, such as '1.5C' or '60 flashes a second', help or hinder real understanding.
5CREATIVE · HEADLINES
Write a headline for the top story in each of the following styles. One line each, no explanation:
  • TABLOID NEWSPAPER
  • LUXURY MAGAZINE
  • ACTIVIST BLOG
6WRITING
Imagine you are a delegate from a small island nation attending next year's summit. Write a short speech (120-150 words) explaining what your country needs from the negotiations, and why the public should still care about a process many people see as slow and ineffective.
7DEGREES OF EXTREMITY
Complete each ladder from mild to strong.
  • The summit's outcome was disappointing.→→
  • Temperatures have risen slightly above the target.→→
  • Some delegates were uneasy about the process.→→
  • Progress on the rulebook was somewhat slow.→→
  • The new evidence is quite concerning.→→
  • Lightning can occasionally be hazardous.→→
8SPEAKING
  1. Is it ever acceptable for rich countries to demand more from poorer ones?
  2. Why do people find it hard to care about slow, distant disasters?
  3. Should individuals change their lifestyles, or is that a distraction from politics?
  4. Which matters more in tackling climate change: new technology or changed behaviour?