Another climate conference, another failed climate conference.

That’s the sense you might get from the anguished statements emerging at the close of the COP30 meeting in the Brazilian city of Belem at the weekend. Hopes that the final communique would incorporate a roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels were dashed. A planned $125 billion fund for forest protection ended up with just $6 billion or so committed.

That assessment confuses where we’re going wrong on climate, however — and what we’re getting right.