Can UN summits save the planet? A faltering year of talks brings up questions about the process

Global environmental talks are facing a crisis, with recent UN negotiations on climate change, plastic pollution, biodiversity loss, and desertification yielding disappointing results. Experts and activists warn of a "broken" multilateral system hampered by consensus requirements, fossil fuel industry influence, and geopolitical divisions. Despite some progress on climate finance, the overall pace of change is deemed too slow to address the scale of the environmental challenges.