Hopes Fading for 2020 Breakthrough as Climate Talks Near End

International negotiators have called 2020 a make-or-break year for the Paris climate agreement, but observers at the United Nations climate talks wrapping up in Madrid say too many countries are still dragging their feet in the face of ominous warnings.

“Next year is going to be a moment of truth,” said David Waskow, director of the World Resources Institute’s International Climate Initiative. “Are we really going to cut emissions or are we going to find fudges and loopholes and ways around?”

Countries have until November—the date of the next major climate talks by the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, ...