As the COP 27 climate conference kicked off in Sharm el-Sheikh on Sunday, pushing an effective plan forward to prevent a further warming of the planet faces headwinds in light of the war in Ukraine and global recession fears. We recently discussed legal challenges and opportunities of the conference with Covington & Burling partner Daniel Feldman, former chief of staff to Secretary John Kerry, when he was appointed the first special presidential envoy for climate by President Joe Biden, as well as Covington senior adviser and former U.K. ambassador to Morocco Thomas Reilly.

The interview has been edited for length.