Climate anxiety at Cop: ‘Being here makes me more worried’

Barack Obama may have struck a gloomy tone, but that sense is amplified for those in imminent peril

After an exhausting two weeks of speeches, protests, meetings and increasingly tortuous negotiations at the Glasgow climate summit, a sense of simmering frustration and anxiety has gripped many of the 25,000 attenders.

Even former world leaders are not immune. There are times where the future seems somewhat bleak," said Barack Obama on Monday. There are times where I am doubtful that humanity can get its act together before it's too late, and images of dystopia start creeping into my dreams."