Nepal, Nov. 13 -- The 30th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), known as the Conference of Parties (COP30), started in Belem, Brazil, on November 10. The event will continue until November 21. The latest edition of this global negotiation process to curb climate change is unfolding in the backdrop of a sharp contrast to the first such conference, the 'Earth Summit' held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 (Rio-92).

Back then, the United Nations benefited from a renewed post-Cold War multilateralism. The mandates of UN bodies expanded, alongside increased budgets. By creating the UNFCCC, the Rio-92 summit contributed to the rise of global norms in a rules-based international order. It was one among a ...