( MENAFN - The Conversation) The 29th conference of the Parties (COP29 ) takes place in Azerbaijan in November 2024. The annual climate change conference must focus on holding corporations and countries accountable for greenhouse gas emissions. The“polluter pays” principle has been a key part of climate discussions for years.
It says a polluter should bear the costs of managing its pollution, to prevent damage to human health and the environment. Although the principle is widely accepted in theory, it hasn't been put into practice consistently, or enforced. Many of the largest polluters continue to operate with little or no financial consequence for the damage they cause.
Many countries, especially developing ones, have been left to bear the costs of climate adaptation and mitigation, despite being the least responsible for global emissions. Read more: Unprecedented peril: disaster lies ahead as we track towards 2.7°C of warming this century COP29 will have to show more political will and commitment to achieve the drastic emission reductions needed to limit global warming.
The stakes have never been higher. The world is heating up rapidly. On 17 November 2023, the global temperature exceeded 2°C above pre-industrial levels for the first time ever in modern recorded history.
Failing to stop all greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 could cost the African continent US$50 billion annually . It is also expected to cause some 250,000 deaths a year globally between 2030 and 2050. .
