Climate conference, list of the most polluting countries in the world

2024-11-16 08:30:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Asian countries dominate the list of countries that emit the most gases that cause climate change, according to an organization co-founded by former US Vice President Al Gore. During a speech at the annual climate meeting in Azerbaijan, Mr. Gore said that natural disasters occurring as a result of climate change have become more frequent and things will get worse if important decisions are not taken during the conference to protect the environment. However, activists have complained that those who are dominating the annual conferences of the United Nations are representatives of the firms that cause the most pollution on the planet.

Seven countries or provinces emit more than 1 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases and are part of the list of countries that cause the most pollution on the planet. Except for Texas, all the other countries on this list are in Asia.

The list was released during the climate conference in Baku by the Climate Trace organization co-founded by former US Vice President Al Gore. The report also finds that there are cities that cause more pollution than some states as a whole. At the top of the list is Shanghai, China, which emits 256 million metric tons of greenhouse gases, exceeding the amount emitted by Colombia or Norway.

China, India, Iran, Indonesia and Russia had the largest increases in emissions from 2022 to 2023. Meanwhile, Venezuela, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States had the largest reductions in pollution.

Former US Vice President Al Gore said that climate change is causing frequent disasters.

"Hurricane Yagi, in September this year, in Southeast Asia killed more than 500 people. There are other examples that show this happening all over the world. I used to tell about disasters that happened five or ten years ago. Now it can bring information about such events from last week, because the situation is deteriorating very quickly and will continue to worsen if we do not take action at the climate conference, "said Mr. Gore.

He also mentioned the tragedy of the floods in Spain.

"If you look at the sea surface temperatures, a few weeks ago, from the vapors released by the warm waters of the Mediterranean, we saw what happened in Spain. It was a terrible tragedy. "More than 200 people lost their lives in the floods," says Mr. Gore.

However, environmental activists complain that United Nations climate conferences are being dominated by representatives of the planet's biggest polluters.

A report by a group of environmental organizations says that more than 1,700 oil industry lobbyists are attending the climate meeting in Baku.

Activists protested today holding a balloon in the shape of a giant snake as they demanded the removal of lobbyists from the conference.

"They are snakes. The corporations that lobby for the use of oil and gas, that promote gas exports to Africa and the southern part of the globe, are snakes. You know what snakes do, they bite and that is why we don't want them here,” said activist Olamide Matins Ogunlade.

A group of former heads of state and environmental experts said the UN's annual climate conferences were no longer adequate for environmental protection and needed to be reformed. They published an open letter of criticism as the annual UN meeting in Baku continues.

So far, this conference has achieved little progress while one of the main issues being discussed is the fund that developed countries should allocate to poor countries to face the consequences of global warming./ VOA