IT’S December 28, the first working day after a long weekend (well, long weekend if you don’t work in the media or provide another essential service). By the time you read this, it should be the second day of the new year.

Today, Georgetown is flooded. I’m wading through a flooded Camp Street with slippers on because I left my long boots at the office and because there are at least two inches of water on the road following just a few hours of heavy rainfall.

Yes, year-end flooding is not an unusual occurrence, and yes, I should know better, especially since Guyana was gripped by nationwide flooding earlier in 2021, following bouts of heavy rainfall.

Somehow though, I feel so uncertain about the city’s future- especially now that we’re in 2022, one year closer to 2030.

I know that probably sounds ominous, so let me explain.

Georgetown is found on the low coastal plain about seven feet below sea level and separated from the mighty Atlantic Ocean by a long stretch of sea defences-whether sea walls or mangroves. With global warming and climate change contributing significantly to rising sea levels, Georgetown is at risk of going underwater by 2030.

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.

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.

And according to information taken from this body, the capital of Guyana, where the seat of government is and generally where I live and work, could be under water and we would potentially be forced to relocate. The only ways I imagine us countering this threat is by significant investments in flood-defence infrastructure and/or slowing the rate of climate change.

Otherwise, when I’m 30 years old in 2030, I would not be able to relish life’s accomplishments I hope I would have achieved by then. Instead, I would be tasked with uprooting my life and finding higher land, or at least, somewhere where flooding is not as terrible.

That does not seem fair to me or to anyone living in Georgetown or Guyana as a whole, especially since our country has been aiding efforts geared at slowing climate change.

For decades, Guyana has preserved her intact, massive rainforests that help to trap the harmful greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide that contribute to global warming and climate change. Less than one per cent of the country’s trees are cut down.

Certainly, Guyana could cut these trees down and engage in any sort of industrial activity to help generate revenues for the country. The option to cut down these trees and create a manufacturing village, for example, has always been there. But our country has instead opted to protect those trees and help save the earth.

Now juxtapose Guyana’s noble efforts with the fact that the country’s capital city could be underwater by 2030 if there are no massive global climate-mitigation efforts. Despite our good environmental track record, Guyana is increasingly vulnerable to rising sea levels as a small, low-lying country. This illustrates that while Guyana has been helping the world, the country is facing the disproportionate effects of climate change.

Small island developing states worldwide are being worse affected by the impact of climate, though many of them have not contributed significantly to the climate challenge. And so, the next eight years- until we get to 2030- will be a defining period for the entire planet.

Will countries of the world meaningfully cut their emissions and slow the rate of global warming, thereby slowing the effects of climate change? Or will the burden of climate change continue to fall on small countries which have traditionally contributed the least to global warming?

One can hope that international fora can yield agreements to finance climate-adaptation efforts and cut back on the use of harmful, non-renewable forces. Otherwise, each passing year will become more and more daunting- for me, at least.

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