New Bay of Pigs

Severe climate tumult is widening the global justice gap, what with developing nations curtailing growth ambitions to pay for the past follies of the developed

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From floods to heatwaves, nature is forcing accountability where diplomacy and declarations have failed

The images have been hitting us relentlessly. Entire Libyan neighbourhoods have been swept into the sea after dam failures, Europe's rivers are drying up into cracked riverbeds, Canada battles its worst wildfire season, and India's heatwaves have pushed temperatures past 50°℃, causing schools to shut and power grids to buckle under growing demand.

These are not isolated catastrophes, but a reality check that the climate crisis has accelerated beyond political promise and diplomatic declaration(s). Scientists have warned of tipping points for long, but the scale of devastation unfolding across continents is a wake-up call for urgency and meaningful global negotiations.

The urgency has collided headfirst with a growing sense of injustice. At COP28 and COP30, negotiators from vulnerable nations challenged the global response, insisting that those who had contributed least to creating the problem were bearing the most impact. "We are paying for a crisis we did not cause," Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley said, capturing the anger shared by many in the Global South.

The launch of the 'Loss and Damage Fund' was seen as a turning point, yet its pledges totalled only $700 million, barely enough to cover a single climate disaster. Further, given rising fossil fuel use, global emissions hit new highs in 2024 and 2025. The result: a world caught between soaring ambition and scary reality. Indeed, the world is facing climate's Bay of Pigs-if the original event saw the US and the Cuban Democratic Revolutionary Front fail to overthrow Fidel Castro, the latest avatar is seeing the world battle a climate curve ball where rising natural adversities are stifling ambition.