The Glasgow summit left a huge hole in the world’s plans to curb climate change

AS COP26 FINALLY came to a close on November 13th, more than 24 hours behind schedule, the mood inside the drab temporary buildings erected to house it on the banks of the River Clyde was a mix of celebration and frustration. The painful reality suffusing the conference was that the world is failing to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, despite promising to do so in the Paris agreement of 2015. Yet the summit put a series of new procedures in place that keep alive the possibility of reaching that goal, if countries suddenly find it within themselves to embrace drastic measures.