Climate Politics

Tense Mid-Year Climate Talks Raise Concerns of COP27 Flop

The divide between rich and poor nations widened after two weeks of fraught negotiations in Germany.

Activists march at COP26 in Glasgow in 2021. 

Photographer: Emily Macinnes/Bloomberg
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Negotiators representing dozens of developing nations left Germany empty-handed as rich countries blocked their attempts to secure compensation for the damage caused by climate change.

The talks that ended in Bonn on Thursday are a key item on the annual climate agenda, setting the stage for the United Nations-sponsored Conference of Parties, or COP, in November. For two weeks, negotiators worked to translate into action the big commitments made at COP26 in Glasgow last year in preparation for COP27 in Egypt later this year.