The Conference of the Parties — COP to use the lingo — has had 28 get-togethers since its first in Berlin in 1995.

That first produced “a mandate to begin a process” to limit global warming. Ten years later in Paris 190 countries agreed to a target increase of 2 degrees Celsius, or preferably 1.5.

The most recent gathering, COP 28, was held in the sweltering desert city of Dubai, where some 85,000 delegates, “including more than 150 Heads of State and Government” and “representatives of national delegations, civil society, business, Indigenous Peoples, youth, philanthropy, and international organizations” jetted in to shelter in air-conditioned convention rooms and discuss the crisis for the 28th time. Lord knows how many limousines were required.