Is COP Full of Hot Air?

Some believe the United Nations Climate Change Conference, better known as COP, is purely ceremonial: Negotiations are agreed upon well in advance, and no meaningful change comes out of them. But this is not necessarily true. Tim Smith, a member of our ESG and Sustainable Investment team whose research focuses on the investment implications of climate change, explains to host Ron Temple why the impact of COP varies from year to year—and why this year’s meeting, COP27, may be particularly impactful given the ongoing energy crisis in Europe, the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in the United States, and rising geopolitical tensions.