Over the next few weeks Dubai will be abuzz. Tens of thousands of diplomats, activists and business folk are due to fly in to join the UN’s annual climate pow-wow. The United Arab Emirates’ skill at wrangling countries and industries with vastly disparate interests, in the hope of making further progress on tackling climate change, will be on full display. But that is not the only reason to pay attention to the UAE. It also shows how to thrive in the multipolar age. The country is home to just over 0.1% of the world’s people and produces only 0.5% of...