With barely a months notice, Chile canceled plans to host the annual United Nations climate summit as fiery protests against austerity and widening inequality engulfed the country for a third week.

Chiles neighbor, Brazil, had initially been slated to hold the 25th Conference of the Parties, or COP25. But after years as a climate champion, South Americas largest country elected far-right ideologue and climate science denier Jair Bolsonaro as its new leader in November 2018. One of his first moves was to withdraw as host.

Chiles announcement sent the United Nations scrambling Wednesday to secure a new location for the highly choreographed gathering of the worlds leaders. The debacle also raised an unsettling question: If unrest is already destabilizing middle-income countries, how will the world work together in the decades to come as the effects of climate change worsen?

Its a warning, said Francesco Femia, co-founder of the Washington-based nonprofit Center for Climate and Security. Were in trouble from a security perspective, and the window is closing.