No Climate Conference in the last decade has finished on time, and the Conference here in Madrid is showing no signs of nearing completion tonight. The Chilean President has requested delegates to work through the night. Agreement on some issues has been reached, such as on capacity building, a gender programme, and on technology, but the bigger ticket items, including loss and damage are yet to be addressed.

It was four years ago today that the Paris Agreement was adopted at COP21. The historic agreement, which charted a new and optimistic future for tackling climate change, was signed by most countries on 22 April 2016, and in record-breaking fashion, entered into effect on 4 November 2016. Today, it has 195 signatories and 187 parties.

There was a lot happening today. There was Greta, a conversation between the United Nations Secretary-General and the International Space Station. There were protests. Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) were here to show their plans for setting science-based targets....