Justin Trudeau won’t be at COP27 — and he’s not alone. Has the heyday for global climate conferences come and gone?

Climate guru Greta Thunberg isn’t going. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau isn’t either.

The 27th edition of the annual international climate summit (alias COP27), which starts this weekend, isn’t shaping up as a pivotal moment in the fight against climate change like its predecessors in Kyoto and Paris.

There won’t be any dramatic emission-reduction targets announced, nor any pacts to end fossil-fuel subsidies and coal exports. That’s leading many to question whether the COP conferences have outlived their use.