Adem Jones || Issue 10 || December 3rd, 2024
As The 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP29, enters its second week in Baku, Azerbaijan, attention intensifies on corporate accountability in the climate crisis. Todd Paglia, executive director of stand. Earth, is a leading voice at the conference, pushing for transparency and responsibility from major corporations. His target: Cargill, a global food giant accused of contributing to deforestation and greenwashing its climate efforts. “We’ve uncovered troubling practices tied to Cargill’s operations,” Paglia says, pointing to the company’s efforts to obscure the true extent of its environmental impact. Cargill’s involvement in a controversial project to build a railroad through
the Amazon rainforest, putting Indigenous land at risk, adds to Paglia’s concerns. “This is a company that says one thing and does another,” he adds. Beyond corporate accountability, experts at COP29 are also calling for broader action. Amy Wilentz, a professor at the University of California, Irvine, brought up the difficulty of addressing climate change in regions where environmental issues are often viewed through religious or cultural lenses. “If you don’t call it climate change, if you just call it ‘the problem with the harvest,’ people are more likely to listen,” Wilentz explains. Wilentz also pointed out the political and economic barriers standing in the way of climate progress. “The whole world economy runs on fossil fuels,” she says, stressing that political leaders often avoid confronting climate change to protect their ties to industries like oil and gas. To push for more urgent action, Wilentz suggests direct action, such as the climate protests in England. “Maybe we should respond with actual roadblocks,” she proposes, advocating for civil disobedience to challenge the status Quo. Meanwhile, one of the standout initiatives of COP29 is the Global Cooling Pledge, which was launched last year at COP28 and reaffirmed by over 30 countries and organizations at this year’s conference. The pledge aims to reduce cooling-related emissions and ensure that vulnerable populations have access to life-saving cooling solutions as global temperatures continue to rise. Dr. Amna Bint Abdullah Al Dahak, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment, highlighted the pledge’s potential to curb emissions by 78 billion tons by 2050. “Cooling is not a luxury but a necessity,” she stressed, with extreme heat becoming an increasing global challenge. Countries like Brazil, Cambodia, and Ghana are already integrating cooling into their national climate plans, and cities are taking steps to improve urban cooling and reduce energy consumption. Despite the momentum surrounding the pledge, critics point to COP29’s location in Baku, citing Azerbaijan’s reliance on oil and gas and its questionable human rights record as problematic. However, Todd Paglia remains hopeful that the conference can still drive meaningful change. “The fight against climate change is far from over,” Paglia says, urging the global community to continue pushing for real, lasting solutions. COP29 may be nearing its end, but the crucial conversations sparked here will help shape the future of climate action.
Photo Credits: ICLEI
The Hudsonian 