In this pivotal year, rich nations failed woefully on climate justice

By Graham Lawton

AND so this is Christmas, and what have we done? A year ago, I was writing a preview of 2021, which was shaping up to be pivotal for our fractious relationship with the environment. The UN was getting ready to launch not one, but two decades: one on ecological restoration and one on ocean science for sustainable development. The world was preparing to get to work on a new set of biodiversity targets. And the headline act, of course, was the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow in November.

I spent a head-spinning week at COP26 and still have very mixed …