This week, Ellen and Alona look ahead to COP29, the annual climate summit, hosted this year in Baku, Azerbaijan.

They are joined by Isabel Hilton, Prospect’s contributing editor who shares her experiences at COP, and Sam Alvis, a policy advisor and director of energy and environment at Public First.

25 out of the 35 key “planetary vital signs” are out of bounds, and biodiversity is rapidly dwindling. At the same time, a growing culture war means consensus about action is increasingly contested in the political space. Last year, a government minister left the conference early to vote on the Rwanda scheme—now, is Labour doing any better?

Isabel and Sam discuss the government’s climate plans and rank its performance out of ten. But why do leaders struggle to make progress? And, amid growing climate-related anxiety, how can we avoid a sense of paralysis?

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