The COP flop: What the failure of the world’s biggest climate summit means for fashion

To many, COP29 seemed doomed from the start.

The annual United Nations summit on climate change was hosted in Azerbaijan, an oil-rich nation that has, according to some reports, used its position as conference host to pursue more “investment opportunities” for its state-owned oil and gas company. Ahead of the conference in August, Papua New Guinea pulled out, with the prime minister calling it a “waste of time”. Greta Thunberg sat out as well. Rich nations have not yet committed to a strong climate financing deal. The election of Donald Trump, whose incoming administration denies the climate crisis entirely, only buried hopes further.