A lack of leadership proved to be the ultimate stumbling block for Cop30

Symbolism was everywhere as Brazil’s Cop30 drew to a close. First, there was the Africa Pavillion dramatically bursting into flames on Thursday afternoon, which – along with the daily bursts of Amazonian rainfall that flooded a number of meeting rooms over the two weeks – gave the impression that climate-induced extreme weather was right there in the room with us in Belém. Then, there was the news that, after much squabbling between the two countries, the next UN climate conference, Cop31, is set to be hosted by the Australian government in the Turkish city resort of Anatalya, with a pre-Cop…