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For the past two weeks, Chiang Rai and much of northern Thailand have been hit by devastating floods as Typhoon Yagi ravages Southeast Asia. Landslides and flash floods triggered by the typhoon have caused hundreds of deaths throughout Thailand, Vietnam, and war-torn Myanmar, and left millions more displaced, injured, or missing throughout the region.
Thousands of miles away from this death and destruction, world leaders have gathered in the august halls of the United Nations General Assembly in New York for the Summit of the Future. This week, the heads of state and government are adopting “The Pact for the Future,” a painstakingly negotiated outcome that reaffirms their commitment to tackling global challenges, including the existential threat of climate change. Yet, while the ink dries on the 60-something-page document, the harsh reality of climate change continues to unfold across Southeast Asia.
Global Crisis, Local Consequences
Typhoon Yagi is not an isolated incident. Reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have warned that rising global temperatures are driving extreme weather patterns and accelerating sea-level rise, threatening islands and coastal communities with increasing frequency and severity worldwide. Low-lying cities like Bangkok are facing the dire prospect of being submerged by rising sea levels. Indeed, the capital is projected to be mostly inundated within the next hundred years if current trends continue. The latest brief on sea-level rise produced by the UN Secretary-General Climate Action Team, published last month, warned that sea-level rise “threatens dozens of coastal megacities on all continents, including, but not limited to, Bangkok, Buenos Aires, Dhaka, Guangzhou, Jakarta, Lagos, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Mumbai, New Orleans, New York City, Rio de Janeiro, Shanghai, and Tokyo.” For all of us, sea-level rise is not a distant future; it is a reality inching closer every year, possibly in our lifetimes.
But the solution cannot be shouldered by Thailand or by any nation alone. The floods brought by Typhoon Yagi should serve as a clarion call to the world: no man is an island, and even islands are not immune to the effects of climate change.
Global Pledges Falling Short
UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the current trajectory of climate apathy a “code red for humanity”, stating that the world has entered an era of “global boiling”. While world leaders debate in New York, the people of Thailand and beyond are already paying the price – not in baht, but in lives and livelihoods. As Southeast Asia experiences immediate and devastating consequences, addressing the root cause—the reduction of global carbon emissions—requires concerted, coordinated action from the international community to limit anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and global temperatures.
This means that countries must implement their commitments under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement. Enacting concrete, enforceable measures to reduce emissions and global temperatures to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, coupled with financial support for vulnerable nations, are essential if the world is to avoid the worst consequences of global warming. Regrettably, these goals seem out of reach. The IPCC 2023 Synthesis Report shows that, despite current policy and legislation in place, it is “likely that warming will exceed 1.5°C during the 21st century”, which will have severe effects on human health and the environment.
But the report is not all doom and gloom: adaptation to climate change toward a livable future is possible with urgent climate action. It is high time for us to call upon our leaders to fulfill the promises they made to the planet, to the people, and to the generations that will inherit this Earth. They must see beyond Manhattan’s halls and into the reality that communities around the world are facing, and what Thailand is facing now with Typhoon Yagi: the reality of climate inaction on humanity, especially upon the most vulnerable among us.
This week’s Summit of the Future is a time for recommitment, but this rhetoric must be matched with action. Whether these pledges on paper will translate to tangible outcomes remains to be seen. As the IPCC warns, the window for preventing the worst impacts of climate change is rapidly closing. Soon enough, we will see if this Pact for the Future is kept – because the cost of breaking it will be our future, and that of our planet.