As the 25th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference drew to a close in Madrid on Sunday, optimism was replaced by a grim realisation that humanity is falling further behind in the race to save our planet.
COP25 saw most big polluters stick to "business as usual" on the grounds of national interest, shying away from the bold action to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that would avert climate calamity.
As compromise after compromise defanged the summit agreement, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres could no longer hide his disappointment. COP25, he announced, was another "lost opportunity".
Summit negotiators are now clinging to the hope that COP 26, to be held in Glasgow, will see countries stick to the deadline of the Paris Agreement, which binds all conference parties to limit the global temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius of pre-industrial levels.
At the core of the agreement are nationally determined contributions (NDCs) by which parties have committed to cutting GHG emissions, particularly carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels and methane gas from farming.
Thailand's Natural Resources and Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa grabbed the opportunity to boast of the country's climate efforts and commitment at the Madrid conference. Thailand was "integrating [efforts to combat] climate change into all its national development agendas", he said. He also cited figures showing the country target is speeding ahead of the targeted GHG reduction in transport thanks to rail development.
But when it comes to climate efforts, actions speak louder than words.
Despite Mr Varawut's impressive speech, Thailand and its regional neighbours failed to enter the alliance of countries drawing up an enhanced climate action plan (NDC) for 2020. On Dec 11, COP 25 president and Chile's Environment Minister Carolina Schmidt announced that 73 nations have joined the NDC alliance. Unfortunately, no Asean member state was among them.
Weeks before the climate summit, the Thai government pledged to implement its climate action plan. It failed to translate that promise into action. Such a failure demonstrates a lack of political will and an inability to realise the urgency of the matter. This is wrong.
The fact that Thailand is not among the chief culprits for GHG emissions is no reason for us to bow out of the global effort to curtail climate heating. This is because Thailand is among the nations vulnerable to the catastrophic effects of the changing climate. In the wake of rising sea levels, a 2015 study warned that Bangkok is at risk of being submerged in less than 15 years. The World Bank predicts that 40% of Bangkok may be swallowed by seawater as early as 2030.
Although favourable topology means the the country has been saved from weather-related calamities like typhoons, we are increasingly prey to the cycle of drought and flood and the destruction it wreaks on the economy and people's lives.
A "business as usual" mentality cannot save the country from climate-related disasters. But a paradigm change can.
Young activist Greta Thunberg hit the nail on the head when she told the Madrid conference: "We don't have to wait, we can start the change right now."