The role of Azerbaijan as a growing exporter of fossil fuels has forced a debate at this month’s climate conference in Baku over which countries are most responsible for worsening climate change — the producers or the countries that buy and burn those fuels.
If producers were forced to account for all emissions, either they wouldn’t exist or oil and gas would be charged for what it actually costs, buyers would happily switch to cheaper renewables when possible, and a lot of plastic junk just wouldn’t get made.
The fault lays at the feet of producers and the politicians they bought.