The global rise of authoritarianism is weakening climate governance just as warming accelerates and tipping points draw near. This failure now poses a direct threat to our future.

Authoritarianism is stalking nations and global institutions, often allied with climate scepticism and denial. This has weakened climate governance, most notably in the United States. In Russia and the Middle East oil and gas producers, climate denial-and-delay and authoritarianism co-mingle.  And climate barely rated a mention at Davos this year.

China, the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter, is a complex contradiction. China produces over 80 per cent of the world’s solar panels, 60-70 per cent of wind turbines, and three-quarters of energy storage batteries, and accounted for approximately 60 per cent of all new global renewable energy capacity installed globally in 2024.

Last year, China added more new capacity across all energy technologies than India’s total capacity as of the end of 2024, and the generation capacity China has added since the end of 2021 is larger than the entire US energy system. Renewables lead the growth in energy supply in China, but 78 gigawatts of new coal was also added in 2025. Oil production is projected to be flat to 2050, but gas will increase more than 60 per cent from 2020 to 2050, while coal use will remain high till 2030 then decline sharply to about 30-40 per cent of current levels by 2050.

Thirty-two fossil fuel companies were responsible for half of the global carbon dioxide emissions in 2024 and state-owned fossil fuel producers made up 17 of the top 20 emitters. All 17 are controlled by countries, in the main authoritarian, that oppose a proposed fossil-fuel phaseout.

All of this is very challenging and has direct implications for climate action. Yet the rise of authoritarianism means the globalisation cargo cult is on the wane. The World Trade........

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