THE United Nations climate talks- COP26- as this year’s conference was more commonly known ended last week. And while those two weeks allowed many to fixate on climate change issues and advocate for greater mitigation measures, I felt as though the event lived up to my expectations. That is, that by the end of it I was as disappointed and disheartened as the cynical side of me believed I would be.

The climate talks started, as we say in our local parlance, “hot and sweaty.” World leaders emphasised the severe risks of climate change and acknowledged that smaller countries are threatened with significant losses and damage. But, as the talks shifted from the political statements to the negotiations, things started to be very different. That is, it proved that the grandiose statements might have just been empty rhetoric.

Apparently, we don’t care about climate change as much as we think we do.

A colleague in the United States recently asked me why is climate change such an important conversation-for people generally, but young folk like myself in Guyana as well. There are so many ways I could have answered that question, but what was most important to me at that time was the threat of flooding the capital city Georgetown faces.

Based on maps created by Climate Central, using information from the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Georgetown is one of the cities projected to be underwater by 2030. That means by the time I am just 30 years old, if climate change isn’t mitigated, I wouldn’t only be thinking about building a house, opening a business, or starting a family. I would also have to think about whether the city where I live would be underwater and what that means for life as I know it.

For context, the IPCC is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations responsible for advancing knowledge on human-induced climate change. And this report has emphasised just how serious the threat of climate change is, more so if all countries of the world do not take the necessary action to slow global warming.

Those actions include less deforestation, reducing the harmful greenhouse gases that we use; using more renewable energy sources such as hydropower or solar and wind energy; and making adequate money available to small island developing states and low-lying countries, so that these countries can build resiliency to the climate disasters.

Despite this report and despite the very real effects of climate change seen (just look at the nationwide flooding Guyana experienced this year), COP26 did not deliver the ambitions we needed (and not just wanted).

What was particularly disheartening was the parties’ failure to establish a new ‘loss and damage’ fund that would help vulnerable countries withstand the effects of climate change and help protect themselves from events such as rising sea levels and flooding. Instead, commitments were made to initiate a dialogue on the “arrangements for the funding of activities to avert, minimise and address loss and damage.”

Disappointed? Certainly. Surprised? Not the least.

Speaking candidly, I think part of me already knew that getting developed countries to commit to funding for the losses and damage experienced by smaller, developing countries- which, by the way, contribute the least to climate change, yet are among those countries most affected.

At the very opening of COP26, Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley lamented that unless crucial measures are taken to limit global warming and protect smaller developing countries from further devastation, the outlook for our countries is a literal death sentence.

And, the prime minister called out developing countries for failing to finance the US$100 billion sum for Small Island and Developing States (SIDS)—such as Guyana.

Her statements were made at the very beginning of this year’s COP and one can argue that they were a curtain-raiser for the events that would follow and the commitments that would be made. And, well, here we are without a loss-and-damage fund, despite widespread acknowledgement of the impact of climate change on smaller developing countries.

While I believe that necessary climate finance should have been provided this year, I am comforted by the fact that the “dialogue” opens the door to further discussions on this and potentially something that makes you hold onto hope a little longer, no matter how faint that hope is.

Maybe next year, when COP27 goes to Egypt, we can see more meaningful commitments, particularly on climate finance. Maybe we won’t. But, the fact that the possibility exists keeps me going (for now) and keeps my mind off of the impending flooding of Georgetown.

If you would like to connect with me to discuss this column or any of my previous works, feel free to email me at vish14ragobeer@gmail.com