Is COP Failing at a Critical Moment for Climate Action?

COP was built at a time of unipolar geopolitics and multilateral diplomacy: a 1990s model where global leaders imagined that convergence on the US-led international order would create space to address shared challenges. In a fractious and multipolar world, all attempts to reset global rules and transform industries is understood politically. COP, too, is seen as zero-sum game where a win for China can be seen as a blow to the US, no matter how tangential the issue.

With countries around the world actively involved in conflict or increasingly concerned about becoming involved, the security of critical infrastructure has moved rapidly up the political agenda.

In this video commentary, Dan Marks, RUSI’s Research Fellow for Energy Security, argues that COP is poorly placed to deal with the security challenges that increasingly impede climate action, or the growing interface between clean energy and defence industries.