Upwards of 50,000 people have flown into oil-rich Baku, Azerbaijan, for the 29th annual United Nations climate conference where an aggressive push to limit carbon emissions is expected to dominate proceedings alongside demands for “compensation” to be paid by wealthy, industrial nations to the world’s poorest.
One noted absentee will be climate activist Greta Thunberg who says she will not be attending COP29 because the event is “greenwashing.”
The argument is rich nations allegedly prospered by burning fossil fuels and now need to fund poorer nations to avoid the same path, and cope with the severe heatwaves, floods and storms fuelled by global heating and already here. “Climate reparations” have consequently been demanded. Trump has pledged to once again withdraw the U.N. from the landmark Paris climate agreement.