Leaders made big climate promises. They’re struggling to follow through.

After world leaders made lofty promises in the fall to move faster to combat climate change, the months since have brought steady reminders of why following through on those pledges is critical — and why it is so difficult.

Crippling heat waves have scorched India and Pakistan this spring, upending millions of lives. And yet, Russia’s devastating war in Ukraine has consumed the attention of numerous heads of state.

Destructive floods have killed hundreds of people in South Africa — a catastrophe that the nation’s president blamed in part on climate change. And yet, the ongoing pandemic has caused staggering numbers of deaths and remains a public health crisis on multiple continents.

Scientists warned in thousands of pages of agonizing detail — once again — how the world is far off target from its climate goals, and that inaction will lead to more deadly and costly disasters. And yet, inflation and other economic problems have dominated headlines in the United States and abroad.