COP-out
ANOTHER COP, another blow to the planet. The annual UN conference increasingly seems a ritual designed to accept planetary demise rather than an opportunity to course-correct. For Pakistan, this year’s…
COP30, Pakistan and net-zero emissions
Pakistan is an incredible country with immense potential to commence sustainable socio-economic development. However, it must ensure that while it progresses, it does not cross planetary boundaries. In fact, Pakistan…
COP of untruth
Belem promised a “COP of truth.” What unfolded was a courteous unravelling of ambition, as denialism left global climate action wobbling at the moment it needs steel. As the Chair…
Mutirao: post-COP climate test
I experienced this fragility firsthand when the fire broke out inside the COP30 venue. Delegates who moments earlier were debating commas and brackets were suddenly united by vulnerability, coughing in…
COP30 outcomes
COP30 ended on November 21, 2025, after almost two weeks of negotiations, with both positive and negative outcomes. This year’s COP also concluded with commitments and declarations, including “to significantly…
Can we make COP30 count?
For the first time, the Loss and Damage Fund has money on the table, not just promises. The real test is whether Pakistan can secure its share. At COP30 in…
Fossil fuels at COP30
If the camel is a committee’s version of a horse, then the concluding notes of the 30th United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP30) at Belem, Brazil were bound to…
A COP30 agenda for Pakistan
Pakistan’s narrative at COP30 should begin with a simple premise that is both moral and practical: countries that contributed least to the crisis must not be asked to finance their…
COP-ing elite capture
Pakistan is not suffering a resource crisis. It is suffering a power crisis. The problem is not that the country lacks land, water, forests or even the capacity to adapt…
COP30: promise to performance
THE Conference of the Parties (COP) emerged under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), adopted at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Its purpose was clear yet…
