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Cop summits: three decades of failing the climate
TOM HARDY traces how these climate conferences have been captured by fossil fuel interests while CO₂ levels have continued to rise since 1995 — but XR’s citizen assemblies and direct action have offered an alternative
Activists participate in a demonstration for phasing out fossil fuels at the COP29 U.N. Climate Summit, November 19, 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan

At the same time, we are witnessing the ascendancy of authoritarian leaders in thrall to the fossil fuel industries whose representatives have, like cuckoos in the nest, captured the conferences and used them as fig leaves for their real intention: the untrammelled expansion of their self-serving empires.

Founded in 1995, the Conference of the Parties (Cop) aimed to unite global leaders to track climate progress, set national goals, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Tom Hardy writes for the Extinction Rebellion press team — follow him on Bluesky @tomxr.

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