Are Climate Talks Dead?

Multilateral climate diplomacy is losing credibility, fast. The U.S. is pulling back from COP, and many corporations are quietly retreating from their climate commitments. Global summits once framed as urgent final reckonings now feel like political theater, outpaced by the crisis they’re meant to confront. Meanwhile, the planet isn’t waiting: each week brings new signs of collapse floods, fires, droughts, mass displacement—making the gap between diplomacy and reality harder to ignore. In the absence of global consensus, power may shift to cities, blocs, and private capital to drive the next chapter of climate leadership. With trust eroding and timelines tightening, the world faces a stark question: can climate action still be coordinated or must it be reinvented?